A senior journalist based in Juba said a security operational ordered him to stop writing a column in his newspaper until the Transitional Constitution is passed by the parliament.
Nhial Bol told SCR News that a junior security officer approached him last week at his office in The Citizen with orders from his chiefs for the journalist to suspend the column Straight Talk.
He was threatened of facing consequences if he continued writing until the Constitution was passed.
Mr. Nhial added that the threat shows that the draft Transitional Constitution is not a transparent process.
The Editor in Chief said this was the first time he was ordered not to write although there have been issues of harassment and intimidation from the security in the past.
He added that the security should devise ways of presenting documents giving reasons for officers to take action against the media.
Mr. Nhial observed that some security personnel have their own private agandas against certain media houses.
GoSS information minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said he was not aware of the column’s suspension in The Citizen.
He added that given the press freedoms in South Sudan the incident was an isolated case that could be solved immediately.
Mr. Nhial has been writing a Straight Talk column since the inception of The Citizen.
His texts range from politics to economics, religion and social events.