By Deng Ghai Deng
Editor-in-Chief of The Dawn Daily English Newspaper, Emmanuel Monychol Akop, has been arrested, allegedly by National Security Service (NSS), as confirmed by Patrick Oyet, President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS).
Oyet stated that individuals believed to be members of the NSS, on Thursday arrived at the Dawn Daily Newspaper office, held a meeting with Akop, and then took him with them.
Since the arrest, Akop has not been heard.
according to Oyet, neither an arrest warrant was presented to the staff nor were they informed of the reasons behind the arrest.
“We are waiting to see if he will be produced in court, at which point we may know the reasons for his arrest,” Oyet said in an interview. “Even the staff at the newspaper remains in the dark about the specifics of Akop’s detention.”
Oyet further stressed that whether the arrest is work-related or private, the law mandates that Akop should be brought before a competent court within 24 hours of his arrest.
Media Authority Act requires that any media-related issues be addressed first through the media authority before any other institutions intervene.
The arrest comes at a time when concerns about the National Security Service’s growing powers under the National Security Service Act of 2014, amended in 2024, are raising alarms.
The law grants the NSS the authority to make arrests without a warrant, a provision that has drawn criticism from international human rights organizations and press freedom advocates who warn of its potential to undermine civil liberties and press freedom.
Akop’s arrest adds to a troubling trend of actions against journalists and media professionals in South Sudan, which has sparked increased concern among both local and international observers.
Attempts to contact John Kumuri, the spokesperson for the NSS, were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off at the time of writing this story.