The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has issued an apology for
an incident where journalists were barred from covering the opening of its
recent event.
On Wednesday, several journalists reported that they were denied access to
the event location despite having been invited by the Ministry to cover the
three-day workshop. The event, which began on Wednesday morning, was organized
to validate the Judicial Reform Committee's (JRC) report.
The government formed the ad hoc Judicial Reform Committee on July 28, 2022,
with the purpose of reviewing relevant laws, providing recommendations for
judicial reforms, and restructuring the judiciary to improve its efficiency.
Following the incident, AMDISS (Association for Media Development in South
Sudan) urged the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, along with
other relevant authorities, to acknowledge the situation. They called for a
transparent explanation of the incident and a commitment to measures that would
prevent similar occurrences in the future.
During the event’s closing on Friday, Dr. Gabriel Isaac Awow, Undersecretary
of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, stated that the incident
was unintentional.
“We apologize to the journalists who were turned away,” Dr. Awow expressed.
“The hall was very small; we had no ill intentions. When you invite someone to
your house, you don’t turn them away.”
He further encouraged open communication, saying, “If there is an issue, we
are ready to listen and offer our apologies, but publicizing it in newsprint is
not ideal. We want to foster dialogue and understanding.”
