The national journalists union reports that six journalists have been imprisoned in South Sudan following the distribution of a video in which President Salva Kiir appears to wet himself at an official event.

The December clip showed a brown stain running down the president's grey pants as he stood for the national anthem during a road dedication ceremony. The video was never broadcast on television but has gone viral on social media.

The journalists, who the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation employs, were detained on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to South Sudan Union of Journalists president Patrick Oyet.

"They are suspected of knowing how the video of the president urinating was released," he said.

Michael Makuei, minister of information for South Sudan, and David Kumuri, spokesman for the National Security Service, did not immediately respond to demands for comment.

Kiir has served as president since the 2011 independence of South Sudan. Government representatives have frequently refuted social media rumors that he is ill. The nation has been involved in the conflict for most of the past decade.

Recent events have resulted in yet another postponement of the presidential election, this time until late 2024, due to the sluggish implementation of a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil conflict.

Oyet identified the detained journalists were camera operators Joseph Oliver and Mustafa Osman, video editor Victor Lado, contributor Jacob Benjamin, and control room employees Cherbek Ruben and Joval Toombe.

"We are concerned because those currently detained have been held for longer than the law allows," he continued.

By law, South Sudanese authorities may only hold suspects for twenty-four hours before presenting them before a judge.

Muthoka Mumo, a representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, stated that the episode "fits a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavorable."