In any functioning democracy, public officials should expect scrutiny. Debate, criticism, and even tough questioning are essential for accountability.
However, what we are witnessing online in the treatment of Senior Presidential Envoy for Special Programs Adut Salva, is no longer healthy criticism. It is cyber bullying – persistent, personal, and often cruel – and it serves no public good.
Cyber bullying thrives in spaces where anonymity replaces accountability. It flourishes when disagreement gives way to mockery, misinformation, and targeted attacks on character rather than ideas. In the case of Adut, online harassment has too often focused, not on policy or performance, but on personal attributes, identity, and unfounded accusations. This is not political engagement. It is digital intimidation.
Adut occupies a demanding role that requires diplomacy, resilience, and public trust. Special programs are, by nature, complex and politically sensitive. They involve vulnerable communities, international partnerships, and long-term national interests. Constructive criticism of such work is legitimate and welcome. What is not legitimate is the use of social media to demean, dehumanize, or deliberately distort the truth.
The cost of this behavior extends far beyond one individual. When cyber bullies target public servants relentlessly, they send a chilling message to others who might consider public service – that stepping forward means forfeiting dignity, privacy, and basic respect. This weakens institutions by discouraging capable people – especially women and individuals from marginalized backgrounds -from participating in leadership at all.
Moreover, cyber bullying pollutes public discourse. It replaces facts with rumours, analysis with insults, and dialogue with outrage. The loudest voices are not always the most informed, yet online harassment amplifies noise while drowning substance. Democracy cannot function on viral cruelty.
There is also a moral dimension we should not ignore. Disagreement does not require dehumanization. Accountability does not require abuse. One can oppose policies, question decisions, or demand transparency without resorting to harassment. When criticism becomes personal, relentless, and intentionally harmful, it reflects more on the attacker than the target.
Leaving Adut alone does not mean shielding her from scrutiny. It means holding her – and all public officials – to a standard of debate rooted in evidence, fairness, and respect. It means recognizing that behind every title is a human being doing a difficult job in an increasingly hostile digital environment.
If we truly care about good governance, we should reject cyber bullying wherever it appears. We should call it out, refuse to amplify it, and insist on better from ourselves and from our online communities.
Public service is not a license for abuse. Adut deserves the same dignity we would expect for anyone tasked with serving the nation. It is time to lower the volume, raise the quality of discourse, and remember that democracy is strengthened by reason – not cruelty.
The writer, John Bith Aliap, is an analyst and commentator on governance, leadership, and state-building in post-conflict societies. He can be reached via email: johnaliap2021@hotmail.com
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.