– ‘Self-censor for survival’ –
Five journalists working for state-run media were shot dead along with government officials in January in an ambush by unknown gunmen in Western Bahr al Ghazal state.
Another journalist was killed in May in eastern Jonglei state, reportedly in cross-fire during a gun battle between rival groups.
International press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks South Sudan as the 125th worst nation out of 180.
Rights groups have repeatedly warned about the security forces cracking down on journalists and suffocating debate on how to end a civil war in which tens of thousands of people have been killed.
“More and more independent voices are being silenced in South Sudan at this critical time in the country’s history, when the public desperately needs independent, impartial information,” said Tom Rhodes from the CPJ.
Condemning the “senseless killing” of Moi, the CPJ said his death “will inevitably cast a pall over journalists in South Sudan, inducing them to self-censor as a means of survival.”
Earlier this month security forces shut down two newspapers and a radio station after they reportedly promoted a proposed peace agreement that the government has since dismissed as a “sellout”.
South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that has split the poverty-stricken country along ethnic lines.
The government of the world’s youngest nation on Monday refused to ink a power-sharing deal signed by rebels, despite the threat of sanctions and mounting international frustration at the failure to seal a peace accord.
The government said it will return to the talks in Ethiopia in early September after consulting with the people, to “finalise” a peace deal.
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