Thieves storm Wau radio station, vandalise equipment

August 8, 2016 (WAU) – Unknown people on Friday stormed the state-owned radio station in Wau town and destroyed several equipment, an official told Sudan Tribune.

“Many devices, including power banks, AC [Air Conditioner] cold machine for the station and many connection cables and wires were badly demanded,” said the station manager, Pasquale Aleu.

The station, he said, also lost several valuable documents during the burglary.

Five men, the director said, were arrested in connection with the incident being handled by the criminal investigation department.

The radio was established in 1992 by the Sudan government under the Sudan National Broadcasting Cooperation with support from an American company. In 2013, however, it halted operation due to high fuel costs, lack of spare parts and was turn into a frequency modulation (FM) broadcasting radio reaching a 5-kilometer radius.

But before it transformed into an FM station, the radio used to cover the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region, Western Equatoria state as well as southern and western Darfur.

The station, the official stressed, also played leading roles in activities that saw South Sudan secede from neighbouring Sudan after a self-determination referendum in 2011.

(ST)