• TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • ETHICS COMMITTEE
  • SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Sudans Post
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • SOUTH SUDAN
    • SUDAN
    • REGION
  • EDUCATION
  • CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
  • PRESS RELEASES
  • OPINIONS & ANALYSES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • عربي
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • SOUTH SUDAN
    • SUDAN
    • REGION
  • EDUCATION
  • CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
  • PRESS RELEASES
  • OPINIONS & ANALYSES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • عربي
No Result
View All Result
Sudans Post
No Result
View All Result

Human Rights Watch criticizes govt suspension of renowned university professor

by Sudans Post
February 14, 2020
File photo: Professor Taban Lo Liyong

JUBA – The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the suspension of a renowned University professor over an open letter he sent to a US visiting delegation urging the Trump Administration to pressure President Kiir to accept the return of the country to 10 states.

Professor Taban Lo Liyong of the University of Juba urged – in the letter to a US delegation which visited Juba – the American government to pressure the government of South Sudan into accepting the return of the country to the previous 10 states citing ethnic confusion the creation of 32 states in 2015 has created.

“There are people who created this to corner the resources of the country to help them and look up to their political and economic affairs… [But] constitution doesn’t work like that,” Professor Lo Liong in the letter seen Sudans Post.

In a letter dated February 10, the Vice Chancellor of Juba charged and suspended Professor Taban Lo Liyong for inciting what the administration said was an “ethnic hatred” and “bringing the name of the University of Juba into disrepute.”

In an article publish by the HRW this afternoon, the rights group said: “This action is emblematic of the government’s repression of basic freedom of expression, where any form of dissent or criticism of government policy is dangerous.”

“In recent years, South Sudan’s universities have taken steps to limit political freedoms on campus, requiring students and staff to obtain permission from the National Security Service (NSS) for planned activities. Undercover NSS agents are also said to pose as students to keep tabs on critical voices.

“Lo Liyong is not the first academic to be silenced. In January 2017, two academic staff were arrested and detained by the National Security Service (NSS) for leading staff protests and salary negotiations.

“In October 2015, Dr. Luka Biong, Associate Professor of Economics, was suspended from Juba university after organizing a public dialogue on the controversial creation of new states by President Kiir. Threatened by the NSS, he fled the country and remains in exile.

“The same year, the late Dr. Leonzio Angole Onek, former Dean of the College of Applied and Industrial Sciences at the University of Juba, was picked up by armed NSS officers from his faculty residence. He was accused of supporting rebels and held in solitary confinement but released five months later without charges.

The intimidation and harassment have led to self-censorship and have a corrosive effect on research and publication.

Ensuring freedom of expression and the academic freedom to test and contest ideas, however, is essential to building South Sudan’s universities as bastions and safe places for learning and intellectual exchange.”

It further urged the Juba university to “immediately reverse Liyong’s suspension and ensure students and faculty can engage in uninhibited dialog on matters of public importance.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sudans Post

Sudans Post is an independent, young, and grass roots news media organization aimed at providing readers with an alternate depiction of events that occur on Sudan, South Sudan and East Africa, and to establish an engaging social platform for readers to discover and discuss the various issues that impact the two countries and the region.

SUDANS POST

  • ABOUT US
  • Client Portal
  • Client Portal
  • CONTACT US
  • ETHICS COMMITTEE
  • LoginPress
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE
  • TERMS OF USE

RECENT NEWS

  • Nunu Kumba asks finance ministry to prioritise MPs welfare
  • Kamil Idris expands Port Sudan cabinet with five new Ministers

SUBSCRIBE TO SUDANS POST

Get the news delivered right into your inbox and subscribe!

Loading
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • ETHICS COMMITTEE
  • SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE

Copyright © 2019–2025 Sudans Post - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • SOUTH SUDAN
    • SUDAN
    • REGION
  • EDUCATION
  • CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
  • PRESS RELEASES
  • OPINIONS & ANALYSES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • عربي

Copyright © 2019–2025 Sudans Post - All rights reserved.