John Gatluak, South Sudanese broadcaster, killed during conflict (Internews)

| July 18, 2016

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John Gatluak was intimately familiar with the risks of being a journalist amidst the conflicts in South Sudan. But he was also acutely aware of the importance of his job.

“Being a journalist in South Sudan is risking one’s life. But I have dedicated myself to serving my community through radio as a watchdog, informing them about what the politicians are doing once the citizens elect them to power,” Mr. Gatluak told his Internews colleagues last year.

John Gatluak-2-by Jean Luc Dushime-Internews

Photo credit: Jean Luc Dushime/Internews

The 32-year-old radio journalist was killed July 11, 2016, when he was shot by armed men in the capital, Juba. Those who knew him say he was targeted because of his ethnicity. Mr. Gatluak is of the Nuer people, the same as opposition leader Riek Machar. Since December 2013, there has been conflict between President Salva Kiir, supported by members of the Dinka people, and opposition leader Mr. Machar.

This wasn’t the first time that Mr. Gatluak was dragged into the conflict. When the civil war first broke out in December 2013, he was working with Internews as the station coordinator at Naath FM in Leer, nearly 1,000 kilometres north of Juba.

When the conflict spread from Juba to the rest of the country, Naath FM was at the centre of the fighting. Mr. Gatluak and his broadcasting team faced intimidation from opposition forces, but the station remained on air in order to keep the community informed. They kept broadcasting until the station was destroyed in early 2014, when looting broke out in Leer after government forces took control of the town.

At that time, Mr. Gatluak and his colleagues fled to the wilderness of the Nile wetlands for refuge. Six months after fleeing, Mr. Gatluak and his team were back in Leer to rebuild their station. Naath FM broadcast for another eight months before the war once again destroyed the station.

“Journalists are being intimidated, detained, harassed, threatened, and some lose their lives. These are just a few of the challenges I face, and the list is endless,” Mr. Gatluak said when speaking of this period in his career.

But he remained dedicated to journalism, despite the risks. Most recently, he was working with Internews to develop a network of community radio stations in South Sudan. The plan was to register as a local NGO—called The Radio Community—to manage and advocate for each station.

Nigel Ballard is the director of community radio for Internews. Mr. Ballard said: “He was a heroic reporter and a leader, widely loved and embraced in his community. He had great integrity, would never rush to judgement, and was always fair. John was quiet, gentle, and a deep thinker whose actions were informed by his commitments to open and independent journalism.”

Mr. Gatluak was killed in the compound of the Terrain Hotel in Juba, where he had been taken just three days’ prior, following a brief arrest.

Mr. Gatluak leaves behind a wife and three children, including a baby born the day after he died.

“What John would want now is for his work to continue and for independent journalism to thrive in South Sudan,” Mr. Ballard said. “He would want us all to keep working toward the day when everyone has access to the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.”

To read the full story from the Associated Press, Armed Men Kill South Sudan Journalist, Employer Says, go to: http://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/07/13/world/africa/ap-af-south-sudan-shooting.html?_r=2&referer=http://m.facebook.com

To read the full obituary from Internews, In Memory of John Gatluak Manguet Nhial, go to: http://internews.org/our-stories/project-updates/in-memory-john-gatluak-manguet-nhial