Speaking during the inauguration of the Tonj Graduates’ Union executive in Juba on Saturday, Ateny told young people to use digital platforms responsibly and refrain from sharing content that could inflame tensions or undermine social cohesion.
“The hate speech on social media has further divided our nation. It has distorted our social fabric. And the hate speech is even killing us,” Ateny said, drawing applause from the audience of graduates and community leaders.
His remarks come amid rising political and security tensions across the country, with authorities increasingly expressing concern over online incitement, ethnic polarisation, and the circulation of unverified information during periods of unrest.
Ateny said social media had become a powerful tool capable of shaping public opinion, but warned that its misuse was driving hostility rather than constructive dialogue.
“Social media has gone to a level where it is not completely acceptable,” he said. “Public officials can be criticised — that is allowed by law. You can criticise a professor at the University of Juba, a community leader, or even a minister. But there must be a difference between legitimate criticism and abuse directed at ordinary citizens.”
He urged graduates to understand their role as educated members of society, calling on them to promote peace and development instead of contributing to violence within their communities.
“A graduate must look at the bigger picture — what is developing Tonj, what is developing Bahr el-Ghazal, and what is developing South Sudan. This is how a graduate should be,” he said.
In a particularly blunt message, Ateny cautioned against the growing trend of young people allegedly purchasing ammunition and supplying it to local groups engaged in communal violence.
“Any graduate who buys ammunition so that locals go and kill themselves — that one is not a graduate. He is something else,” he said.
He added that education was meant to cultivate leadership and critical thinking, not to fuel destruction. “If someone went to school only to read and write but failed to understand leadership and responsibility, then he did not conceptualise what was taught,” Ateny remarked.
Government officials have in recent months signalled intentions to tighten oversight of digital spaces, as hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric continue to pose challenges to peacebuilding efforts in South Sudan.
