Security forces in Leer County, Unity State, on Saturday released a journalist with Leer Radio 88.0 FM after detaining him for about six hours over a call-in talk show, local officials and media groups said.
Journalist Chuol Mut Teny was arrested at around 12 p.m. on Saturday after hosting a call-in program during which one caller sent greetings to an SPLA-IO general, Banypiny Gatlel, according to colleagues.
After the program ended, police authorities detained Chuol for allowing the caller to make the greeting to the rebel general during the broadcast.
The brief detention comes amid escalating tensions between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and the opposition SPLA-IO in Unity State and other parts of the country.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Sunday, Nyakenya Keah Ruai, Unity State’s minister of information and telecommunications, confirmed that Chuol was released later the same day.
“He was released without any conditions and is now free,” Nyakenya said.
Minister Nyakenya said Chuol spent six hours in detention because authorities, including his office and the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), were initially unaware of the arrest.
“I received the information very late through UJOSS and called the Leer County commissioner, James Kuol Tap, who also said he was not aware of the arrest,” Nyakenya said. “After I called him, the commissioner promised to release the journalist, and he did.”
Chondok Stephen, the UJOSS coordinator in Unity State, also confirmed the arrest and release. He told Radio Tamazuj that Chuol was detained at around 12 p.m. and released at about 6:20 p.m. on Saturday.
“The journalist was released after our communication with the authorities in Unity State,” Stephen said.
Stephen said Chuol’s arrest stemmed from airing a routine morning greetings program, which is broadcast daily on the station.
“The only reason for his arrest was that a caller used the program to send greetings to SPLA-IO General Banypiny Gatlel,” he said.
The incident follows a similar case two weeks ago in which a journalist with Bentiu Radio 99.0 FM was arrested by bodyguards of the Unity State governor for allegedly criticizing the governor over poor road conditions.
Journalists in South Sudan, including in Juba and other parts of the country, frequently face harassment, censorship and arbitrary detention while carrying out their work.
South Sudan’s media environment remains constrained, according to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, which ranked the country 109th out of 180 countries surveyed.
Although South Sudan’s constitution and media laws guarantee freedom of expression and press freedom, those protections are weakly enforced, with a wide gap between the law and its implementation.