AFP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
South Sudanese authorities have arrested six journalists for distributing images showing President Salva Kiir peeing himself. The arrests were denounced by an organization that fights for press freedom.
The video was made last month during an official ceremony. In it, 71-year-old Kiir listens to the national anthem. At first, the president seems oblivious to a stain forming on his pants and a puddle forming at his feet. Then the camera abruptly pulls away. After the video was released, questions about the president’s fitness and health were raised.
Watch the video of the peeing incident here:
State Zender
The six arrested journalists work for the state-owned SSBC channel. It would involve cameramen, a director and a technician. According to the independent news site Sudan Post their phones were checked to find out who shared the video.
Press watchdog CPJ is demanding that they be released and that they can then return to their jobs without being intimidated. The South Sudan Journalists Union initially denied that the journalists had been arrested. He then called for an investigation into the arrests.
President Salva Kiir has ruled South Sudan since independence in 2011. After years of civil war, a peace deal was signed in 2018 with his former vice president. Last month, the United Nations warned of a new war in the poverty-stricken country, not least as implementation of the peace deal is progressing very slowly.
