At least 25 stakeholders, including 12 journalists, security officials, members of civil society and electoral officials in Central Equatoria State’s Yei River County, have called for stronger cooperation to promote peaceful elections and responsible use of digital platforms.
The call was made on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting organized by the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) Central Equatoria State Branch, with support from Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) at the Yei Resource Center.
Speaking during the closing of the meeting, Buga Alex, the Central Equatoria Coordinator for the UJOSS branch in Yei, called for the protection of press freedom, emphasizing the important role of every actor before, during, and after the elections.
“Anyone cannot do this if journalists are threatened, beaten, or if our equipment is confiscated. Therefore, I call upon all actors to protect press freedom. Civil society organizations are the bridge between government and the people, and have a great responsibility in civic education,” he said. “The organized forces, our brothers and sisters in uniform, your role is very important, and it is not politics but protection. You have to protect us, the voters, the ballot boxes, the journalists, and electoral officials.”
“When the process is professional and neutral, people will trust the electoral process and come out to vote in big numbers,” Buga added.
Modi Arkangelo, Chairperson of Civil Society in Greater Yei, called for stronger collaboration between state authorities and the media, particularly in providing accurate information to the public.
“The media becomes the fourth pillar or organ of the government. A country without the media is a dead country because there is no information flow,” he said. “The media falls within the jurisdiction of civil society when people are preparing for elections. All the hopes are looking forward to seeing what role we can play to educate the people to know what they can do.”
On his part, Clement Benet, Director for Youth, Culture and Sports in Yei River County, urged the public to protect their personal data against cyberattacks and hacking and further encouraged social media users to use their real names and share accurate information to make it easier to recover their accounts in case they are lost or compromised.
“What is very important to us is that when you want to open an account, you should use your real name because that becomes easy to track, especially when your information gets lost, and be cautious with hacking or cybercrime,” he counselled.
Meanwhile, Dominic Wawa, a participant in the panel discussion, described the session as productive, saying it has helped prepare stakeholders for the forthcoming elections while also increasing their knowledge of cybercrime and cybersecurity.
“We discussed vital information regarding our preparation and readiness for the forthcoming election that is ahead of us. We are left with only 109 days to the election; that means that there is a lot that we need to do,” he said. “I learned a lot; cybersecurity and computer misuse mean a lot to us. This information needs to go out there so that we do not become victims.”
Jennifer Nyoka, a female participant, called for greater caution in dealing with cybercrime and issues surrounding the upcoming elections.
“I will be going back home with something important regarding the election,” she said. “I learned mostly about cybercrime, and we should be vigilant and very careful about things concerning the internet, fraud, hackers, and misuse of identity because someone might use another’s account illegally.”
The session provided an opportunity to raise awareness about cybercrime, responsible use of computers and digital platforms, and the need for citizens and media practitioners to understand the legal implications of misusing digital technologies, including provisions under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.
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