Six South Sudan journalists arrested over footage of President Salva Kiir wetting himself

Reports from South Sudan are alleging that six journalists have been detained over a leaked viral video of President Salva Kiir.

The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) says that the six journalist - all working for state-run broadcaster South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) - were arrested this week.

The six are; Joval Tombe, Cherbek Ruben, Victor Lado, Joseph Oliver, Jacob Benjamin, and Mustafa Osman. This is despite the fact that SSBC did not air the viral video.

"Five of the journalists were detained on Tuesday and one on Wednesday," Patrick Oyet, who heads UJOSS says.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is now calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalists, who reports say are being held at the National Security Service headquarters known as Blue House.

According to CPJ, South Sudan’s Media Authority, a statutory regulator, has declined to comment on the matter.

The footage, which was shared widely on social media in December 2022, appeared to show President Kiir urinating on himself while at an official engagement.