John Tor Madira Machier (born December 13, 1990) is a

South Sudanese South Sudan is home to around 60 indigenous ethnic groups and 80 linguistic partitions among a population of around million. Historically, most ethnic groups were lacking in formal Western political institutions, with land held by the communit ...

journalist who serves as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Sudans Post ''Sudans Post'' (Arabic ســـودانس بـوست) is an independent South Sudanese online newspaper published primarily in English and covers Sudan and South Sudan. It was founded in 2017, but was not launched until December 2019. In Februar ...

newspaper since January 2020. He is also a co-founder of the newspaper, one of a few outlets in

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. He worked for several media houses in both

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and South Sudan.

Early life

Madira was born in

Bentiu Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State. Location Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...

, the capital of South Sudan's Unity State. He lived his childhood there and worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

for the state ministry of education. He later on worked with the Bentiu Radio FM-99 as a freelance reporter until December 2013 when the

South Sudanese Civil War The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état. ...

broke out and fled to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Career and threats by security agents

Machier begun working as a

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

around November 2013 at Bentiu Radio. He became a popular

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

and opinion writer in 2014 following the outbreak of civil war writing extensively against the atrocities of the government of President

Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Governmen ...

. He was hired to work for local news outlet Nyamilepedia as editor-in-chief in April 2018, but resigned due to lack of editorial impartiality from Nyamilepedia's higher

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. In 2020, he become the editor in chief of Sudans Post and following the blocking of the news publication in Juba, security agents searched for him and phoned him in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

to show up for a meeting in an apparent set up to arrest and deport him back to South Sudan. He fled to hiding and was never arrested.

Controversy

Madira triggered backlash from among the

Sudanese Sudanese or Sudanic may refer to: *pertaining to the country of Sudan **the people of Sudan, see Demographics of Sudan *pertaining to Sudan (region) **Sudanic languages **Sudanic race, subtype of the Africoid racial category See also *Sudanese Civ ...

public and army after deciding to adopt pro-Egyptian views when he claimed in July 2017 that the disputed regions of

Halaib Halaib (also, Halayeb; ar, حلايب, Ḥalāyib ), is a Red Sea port and town, located in the Halaib Triangle, a area disputed between Egypt and Sudan. The town lies on the southern tip of what Egyptians refer to as the Red Sea Riviera and ...

and

Shalateen Shalateen ( ar, شلاتين ' ; also spelled Shalatin and Shalatayn) is the biggest town in the Halaib Triangle, a disputed territory claimed by both Egypt and the Sudan. It is located south of Hurghada and is controlled as the administrativ ...

are Egyptian territories and that

is not a national security threat. There were reports that he was later on approached by security operatives of the

Sudanese intelligence The General Intelligence Service or Directorate of General Intelligence Service is the intelligence service of the federal government of Sudan, created in July 2019 from the former ''National Intelligence and Security Service'' ( ar, جهاز ا ...

in Cairo.

References

External links

Sudans Post

Nyamilepedia

Qurium Media Foundation

Voice of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machier, Tor Madira 1990 births Living people People from Unity (state) South Sudanese journalists