By Malek Arol Dhieu
Eye Radio has lost a day-maker. Every morning before Akile’s death was as beautiful as his voice. Boring mornings after Emmanuel Joseph Akile. What a tragedy! In journalism, journalists do not lay the deceased, cock the gun and fire it to salute the deceased. That is for soldiers. But journalists take pens and write a farewell note in honour of the deceased. This way, journalists intersect with soldiers in saying “heroes never die”. As a journalist in print media, but in love with Akile’s footprints in radio, I am truly dismayed by the untimely demise of a veteran journalist who could have inspired a hundred, if not a thousand, would-be journalists. Sincerely speaking, Akile has left a footprint that will take years to be filled.
I hide not. I am a brave gentleman who speaks my mind even in difficult times when the price of truth-telling is death. Media is the fourth power in the country, but it looks like media is oppressed in South Sudan; a big problem looking for a solution. Media needs independence. Already, the liberation struggle is in progress. Emmanuel Joseph Akile was one of the Media Commanders in the frontline fighting for media independence. Mind you, any struggle for independence is not easy. It takes time and lives.
Whether Akile succumbed to the injuries of the media liberation struggle or died naturally, that is not the business now. The business is to celebrate the life of Emmanuel J. Akile and found an initiative that would keep his legacy alive forever and ever. An annual media competition or fellowship should be initiated in honour of Akile. Or an institute should be established and named in honour of Akile. Anyway, the whole lot is a responsibility of the media fraternity in South Sudan, taking into consideration the suggestions by the public.
This is a critical time where the few journalists alive are wished they were bacteria to multiply exponentially in number, go out, gather news and report it, rather than them dying in numbers. Two journalists, Emmanuel Joseph Akile and Matia Samuel Timatio, died just one week apart. As the country is in multiple crises, the number of journalists is expected to increase to combat disinformation, misinformation, hate speech and stereotyping, which are part and parcels of the ongoing conflict.
When a person who has a rich legacy dies, it is a mixture of mourning and celebration of his life. Emmanuel Joseph Akile has made a history, not only in South Sudan, but also in the region of East Africa. Such a great personality should not be mourned for, but celebrated as his legacy lives on. From the admission in hospital, death announcement, condolence messages, requiem, corpse transportation, burial and funeral rite, one would say Emmanuel Joseph Akile holds a special position in the heart of media fraternity in South Sudan. Painful as it is, Akile is going to be dearly missed. Nothing else, but love and farewell. Rest well, veteran journalist, Emmanuel Joseph Akile.
Thank you for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.