FILE PHOTO: Hon. Ateny Wek Ateny, Minister of Information, Communications, Technology, and Postal Services addressing media on December 19, 2025. Credit: OPPU

The Minister of Information, Ateny Wek Ateny, has called on media practitioners to operate within the law, saying journalists who practice responsibly will be protected by the government.

Ateny, who is also the government spokesperson, described the Ministry of Information as a place of protection for journalists and encouraged media workers to seek support whenever they face challenges in the course of their work.

“And I said any professional media person, whenever anything happens to you the Ministry of Information is your dent. You run to the Ministry of Information. We will protect you. We will protect you in as much as you are responsibly exercising the freedom of expression, in a legal way, not illegal way. We will protect you,” he said, speaking during the ongoing World Press Freedom Day celebrations, which began in Juba on Tuesday.

“The Ministry of Information under me is the dent for the journalist. You know the lion stays in a dent simply because there are also animals that can destroy the lion like an elephant So the lion goes to the land to the dens very thick dens so that when an elephant comes, elephant has a big body, it will start crashing on the trees and the elephant will find a way of sneaking out,” he added.

The minister compared the ministry’s role to a lion seeking safety in its den, saying journalists should feel free to approach the ministry for protection while carrying out their duties within the law.