Africa-Press – South-Sudan. People with keener eyes and sharper memories might have noticed that the Spokesperson of the National Assembly, Oliver Mori, has recently been a subject of criticism since he addressed the media on Monday.
Last weekend was a critical day for the ruling party SPLM. The long-awaited rally by the Greater Equatoria meant to endorse President Salva Kiir as the flagbearer in the upcoming election finally took place. And, there it was the talk of the city.
Some members of the National Assembly took to the floor of the House and expressed their dissatisfaction with the political event, arguing that it was untimely and was a misplaced priority. For those who are new to this, such sentiments irked Mr Mori. He allegedly spent a good part of his press address warning the media against covering such critics saying any journalist who would dare to cover such stories would face the music.
Eye Radio quoted Mori, saying: “Anybody who indulges himself or herself (in reporting MP’s criticism) will bear the consequences and responsibility. I am saying this so that you ladies and gentlemen of the press should not later say well, our spokesperson of the parliament, if there was something like that, why did you not inform us from the beginning? I have told you in black and white, go in peace and we expect you to abide by what I have said in this press conference. Anybody who goes out of it will know the consequences and I will not be part.”
First and foremost, it sounded absurd for a spokesperson of the lawmaking organ of the government who ironically should acknowledge the sanctity of the country’s Bill of Rights to issue such threats. The utterances by the lawmaker demonstrated that some of our leaders are oblivious to the fact that South Sudan as a sovereign republic is governed by the rule of laws which accord individuals the freedom of expression.
In addition, we are heading into an electioneering period where candidates will be selling their policies, we should expect a season of criticism where individuals will critique each other’s track record—from the presidency level to the lower elective positions. This would require that the media adopt a pluralistic approach through fair coverage to everyone. To achieve this, the media must be allowed to carry out its duty diligently and professionally.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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