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*A video showing South Sudanese President Salva Kiir peeing on himself at an official event earlier this month led to the detention of six journalists.
As Reuters reports, the incident occurred in December when the 71-year-old president stood for the national anthem at a road commissioning event. The embarrassing moment never aired on the telly but quickly circulated on social media.
Journalists with the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation were detained for two days for “having knowledge on how the video of the president urinating himself came out, Patrick Oyet, president of the South Sudan Union of Journalists, told Reuters.
Per Reuters, “The detained journalists are camera operators Joseph Oliver and Mustafa Osman; video editor Victor Lado; contributor Jacob Benjamin; and Cherbek Ruben and Joval Toombe from the control room, Oyet said,” the outlet writes.
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VIDEO – Shock in South Sudan as video appears to show President Salva Kiir inadvertently passing urine. Incident happened yesterday during the launch of the Juba-Terekeka road. He is seen looking unaware, only noticing after he is done. pic.twitter.com/sDURMtI9sa
— The Chronicles (@ChroniclesRW) December 14, 2022
“We are concerned because those who are detained now have stayed longer than what the law says,” Oyet added.
The incident “matches a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavorable,” said the sub-Saharan Africa representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Muthoki Mumo.
South Sudanese law dictates that suspects can be held by authorities for only 24 hours before authorities must bring them before a judge.
The South Sudanese government has been led by Kiir since the country gained independence in 2011. It has been repeatedly denied that he is unwell by government officials.
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