South Sudan vows to probe journalist's killing

South Sudan's Presidency has vowed to investigate death of a South Sudanese journalist who was recently shot dead in Juba, local South Sudanese media reported Friday.

Last Wednesday, the South Sudanese journalist Moi Peter Julius was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the capital Juba.

The family of the deceased journalist issued a statement in which it said that Julius' killing was not a normal crime and was not motivated by robbery as his wallet and mobile phone were not stolen.

The killing of Julius came shortly after South Sudan president was reported to have threatened to kill journalists.

To this end, earlier South Sudanese organizations defending freedom of the press quoted president Kiir as saying that if journalists did not know that people died in the struggle to gain independence of South Sudan, it was time to show it to them.

Julius was the 7th journalist to be killed in the new-born state which gained its independence in 2011.

However, in December 2013, South Sudan plummeted into violence when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.

The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes. Endit