JUBA – A journalists’ union in South Sudan confirmed on Friday that at least six staffers with the national broadcaster had been detained in connection with the footage, apparently showing the country’s President urinating on himself during an event.
The South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation footage aired in December and was widely shared online. It showed the 71-year-old President Salva Kiir standing during the national anthem – looking down at what appeared to be a spreading stain before the camera was turned away.
The Union of Journalists of South Sudan called for a speedy conclusion to the investigations into the staffers who it said were in the custody of the National Security Service (NSS).
In a statement, the union said the staffers were suspected of having knowledge of the public release of ‘certain footage.’
Officials with the president’s office, and the national broadcaster declined to comment.
Kiir has been South Sudan’s only president since the country won independence from Sudan in 2011. The presidential election was recently postponed, again, this time to late 2024, amid the slow implementation of a 2018 peace deal ending a five-year civil war.
- Agencies
