Six journalists in South Sudan arrested
By: T. Mwajuma Twaha Adams
South Sudan Journalists held over film of president appearing to wet himself
Six journalists in South Sudan have been arrested.
This was over the circulation of footage appearing to show President Salva Kiir wetting himself as the media rights groups say.
In December, a video shared on social media appeared to show Mr Kiir urinating on himself as the national anthem played at a function.
The staff at the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation were arrested on Tuesday by agents from the National Security Service.
Six staff from the state broadcaster were detained this week.
The detained journalists are camera operators Joseph Oliver and Mustafa Osman, video editor Victor Lado, contributor Jacob Benjamin, Cherbek Ruben and Joval Toombe from the control room as Oyet said.
The president of the South Sudan Union of Journalists, Patrick oyet , told Reuters that the journalists are suspected of having knowledge on how the video of the president urinating himself came out.
The picture of the President aired out one months ago and investigations has been on going.
The South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation says the footage was never aired.
This is according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, citing media reports and other sources familiar with the case.
CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo, said the arrests match is a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavourable.
He is now calling for their unconditional release.
The Information Minister Michael Makuei told Voice of America radio that people should wait to learn why the journalists were detained.
Rights groups have frequently called on the South Sudanese authorities to stop harassing and threatening journalists.
Kiir became the first president of South Sudan – Africa’s newest country – in 2011.
But the country has suffered numerous crises since then, enduring brutal conflict, political turmoil, natural disasters and hunger.