Journalist Jackson Ochaya who works for the Number One Citizen newspaper in Juba is confirmed by Union of Journalist to be in detention at the NSS - credit | Courtesy | File Photo

A journalist is being held by security under unknown circumstances, the chairperson of the Union of Journalists in South Sudan has said.

Jackson Ochaya works for the Number One Citizen newspaper in Juba.

According to the newspaper, Ochaya last wrote an article on clashes between government forces and the opposition group, National Salvation Front, NAS.

The chairman of the Union of Journalists in South Sudan, Oliver Modi, said the journalist went missing on Tuesday last week.

He told Eye Radio on Monday that Ochaya was later confirmed to be in detention at the national security building, blue house.

Modi condemned the detention, saying it is the Media Authority tasked with regulating the media but not security forces.

“I don’t know why this is happening in the presence of our office of the Media Authority. But now the security is doing things contrary to the media authority law,” he stressed.

“A journalist or a reporter is not supposed to be picked and just detained. They are supposed to go to the office of the newspaper of the media house and it is the office of the editor that will answer their questions.”

Modi urged security agents to work in collaboration with journalists to develop the country.

“This country needs our efforts, collectively. With collaboration, we will achieve our goals; we will achieve the vision that we are driving to and that is the national vision of the Republic of South Sudan,” he added.

For his part, Media Authority’s Managing Director Elijah Alier told Eye Radio that his office was not aware of the arrest of the journalist.

“Arrested? No, I am not aware,” Alier said.

According to rights groups, dozens of reporters have been subject to intimidation, arrest, censorship, and violence since South Sudan’s independence.