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Case History: Clement Lochio Lomornana

Status: 
Arbitrarily Detained & Whereabouts Unknown
About the situation

South Sudanese security arbitrarily detained Mr Clement Lochio Lomornana on 6 August 2015. His whereabouts are still unknown.

About Clement Lochio Lomornana

Clement Lochio LomornanaClement Lochio Lomornana is a prominent journalist and a strong voice in the defence of media rights and freedom of speech in Africa. The journalist has been working for a radio and internet news service called Gurtong Media for approximately 6 years and has been very vocal about the civil war and subsequent peace talks to end the 20-month conflict in the country. Clement Lochio Lomornana has been targeted a number of occasions in the past months as a result of his work.

8 February 2016
Six months after his disappearance, whereabouts of Clement Lochio Lomornana still unknown

On 6 August 2015, in the middle of the night, security forces arbitrarily detained human rights defender Clement Lochio Lomornana, together with two of his friends, brothers Amin and Nailo Venansio. Six months later, his whereabouts are still unknown.

The officers took the three men from their huts in the village of Chukudum, Budi County, in the south of the country, and brought them to a military barrack. According to local sources, the officers tortured them in order to force them to confess crimes they hadn't committed. Amin and Nailo Venansio were allowed to receive visits from their family, while Clement Lochio Lomornana was not.

On August 15, Clement Lochio Lomornana and Nailo Venansio were reportedly last seen being forced into a military vehicle. Since then, there has been no information on their whereabouts. However, authorities in South Sudan have officially denied that they have arrested them.

In the months prior to his disappearance, Clement Lochio Lomornana had been subjected to a number of serious acts of intimidation and attempted attacks. He reported being followed in Juba on several occasions and he received death threats. After sharing his concerns with family and friends, the human rights defender decided to leave the country for a period of time. He went into hiding in Uganda and Kenya and he returned to South Sudan in early August.

Journalists and those who are critical of the government have suffered ongoing persecution and harassment in South Sudan. On 20 August 2015, journalist Peter Moi was shot dead. He was the seventh journalist killed in South Sudan in 2015. This occurred just three days after President Salva Kiir threatened to kill reporters who "work against the country."

On 30 December 2015, agents of the National Security Service arrested journalist Joseph Afandi, who had recently written an article where he criticised the ruling party for failing to protect South-sudanese citizens and for being responsible for the civil war. According to the organisation Committee to Protect Journalists, since civil war broke out in 2013 “security agents have harassed the press and raided media outlets to limit coverage of rebel activities” and the killings “bring a new level of intimidation to South Sudan's beleaguered media”.

Front Line Defenders expresses grave concern at the arbitrary detention and unknown whereabouts of Clement Lochio Lomornana, particularly in light of harassment against him and other journalists. Front Line Defenders remains gravely concerned for his physical and psychological integrity and believes that his detention and disappearance are directly linked to his peaceful and legitimate human rights work.

27 August 2015
Whereabouts of journalist and human rights defender unknown amidst ongoing intimidatory campaign against journalists in the country

Approximately three weeks since he was arbitrarily detained by South Sudanese security forces on 6 August 2015, the whereabouts of human rights defender Mr Clement Lochio Lomornana are unknown.

He was reportedly last seen on 15 August 2015 being forced in a military vehicle.

On 6 August 2015, Clement Lochio Lormanawas detained by South Sudanese security forces in Chukudum, Budi County, along with two friends, brothers Amin Venansio and Nailo Venansio. They were taken from their huts in the middle of the night and brought to a military barracks, where torture was reportedly used to force them to confess to crimes which they did not commit. Amin and Nailo Venansio were allowed to receive visits from their family, while Clement Lochio Lormana was not.

On August 15, Clement Lochio Lormana and Nailo Venansio were reportedly last seen being forced into a military vehicle. Since then, there has been no information on their whereabouts. However, authorities in South Sudan have officially denied that they have arrested Clement Lochio Lormana.

In the months prior to Clement Lormana's detention, he had been subjected to a number of serious acts of intimidation and attempted attacks. He reported being followed in Juba on several occasions, and he had received several death threats. After sharing his concerns with family and friends, the human rights defender decided to leave South Sudan for a period of time and go into hiding in Uganda and Kenya. He decided to return in early August.

Journalists and those who are critical of the government have suffered ongoing persecution and harassment in South Sudan. In this context, journalist Peter Moi was shot dead on 20 August 2015, the 7^th journalist killed in South Sudan in 2015. This occurred justthree days after President Salva Kiir threatened to kill reporters who "work against the country."