South Sudanese authorities have detained six journalists from a state-owned TV channel in connection with a video they deemed offensive to President Salva Kiir.
A video that has gone viral on social media shows Kiir urinating down his pants during an event in the capital Juba in December.
The pictures opened a discussion about the President’s state of health.
A South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) journalist told Thamazooj Radio that five of his comrades were detained on Tuesday at the station’s headquarters, and a sixth in Western Equatoria state.
Among those arrested are the director of the broadcaster’s control room, Joval Tombe, a content editor, and several cameramen and technicians who were supposed to be present during the event and record images.
Official South Sudanese Information Ministry sources confirmed the arrests, but kept the case to a minimum by securing the assistance of journalists in the investigation.
“Indeed, some of our colleagues have been transferred but not detained,” the sources added.
“Security indicated that the video posted on social media turned out to be from SSBC, despite the fact that SSBC has not released any news related to this video,” they said, before assuring that the journalists would soon be released.
South Sudan has a unity government that came to power after the 2018 peace agreement between Kiir and then rebel leader Riek Machar, who returned to the post of first vice president of the African country.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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