Sisto Germano Ohide. (Photo: Social Media)

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is appealing to the South Sudan government to “immediately and unconditionally” release a detained journalist working for a community radio station in Eastern Equatoria State.

Sisto Germano Ohide, a presenter and reporter of Singaita FM in Kapoeta East County was arrested on August 6 – for reporting on a story about a woman who was allegedly fined by a local Church for breaking a Statue of Mary.

The New York-based media watchdog disclosed in a press statement, that Mr. Ohide is ill and undergoing malaria treatment, adding that his arrest is deeply worrying.

Police in the state took Ohide to custody after producing a warrant accusing him of defamation before he was released for medication, CPJ said, quoting Singaita FM Station Manager David Mayen.

It was stated that when the journalist was well and reporting to work the next day, he was arrested and later transferred to Torit Central Police Station, where he remains detained without charge.

“Sisto Germano Ohide’s arrest is yet another stain on South Sudan’s already poor press freedom record, and it is deeply worrying that he remains in custody while severely ill,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi.

“Authorities should release Ohide and drop all charges against him.”

Freedom of the press in South Sudan is extremely precarious and journalists work under constant threat and intimidation, and where censorship is ever-present, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).