Eight-Year Silence Ends in Wau
The airwaves above Wau crackled back to life on Monday as the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation station transmitted its first test signal in eight years. The broadcaster had fallen silent in 2017 after the civil war forced staff to abandon damaged studios.
Civil War Damage Still Visible
Years of vandalism stripped the facility of cables, mixers and protective fencing, leaving rusted transmitters and broken antennas exposed. Technicians say only a fraction of the original inventory survived, underscoring the scale of rehabilitation still required.
Local Lawyer Sparks Revival
Unexpected assistance arrived from Wau-born lawyer Jacob Wol, a former employee, who personally secured replacement cables and mobilised volunteers. State Information Minister Samuel Nicola Cornelio praised the gesture, admitting he was not sure where the support came from yet welcomed the initiative.
Funding Gap and Security Needs
Cornelio estimates only five thousand US dollars now stand between the station and full service. He said fencing the compound tops the priority list to deter future looting, alongside studio acoustics, generators and a reliable internet uplink.
Platform for Elections and Culture
Officials view the revived channel as a strategic tool ahead of the national elections scheduled for 2024. Planned programming includes civic education, promotion of Western Bahr el Ghazal’s rich cultural heritage and real-time market information for farmers.
Staff Determination Drives Progress
Station director Alor Deng Koor recalled overseeing cleaning sessions that removed bat droppings and shattered glass. “We, the staff, never lost hope,” he noted, crediting teamwork for pushing transmitters to a testing phase despite scarce spare parts.
Countdown to Official Launch
The governor’s office expressed pleasant surprise at the unscheduled comeback and promised to grace a formal relaunch later this month. For now audiences in Wau can catch intermittent test broadcasts as engineers fine-tune frequencies and align the rusty satellite dish.
Looking Ahead for Wau Broadcasts
Media analysts in Juba describe the return as symbolic of South Sudan’s gradual stabilisation. If funding materialises, SSBC Wau could soon reconnect remote communities to national discourse, turning yesterday’s silence into tomorrow’s shared conversation.