Writer: Jibi Moses

A Facebook post published by Sixty 4 Tribes Press claiming that dozens of South Sudanese were injured during a community association election petition in Kenya is false.

“Dozens were injured during the Warrap State Community Association election petition in Kenya after one of the candidates was cornered by goons hired by an embassy official,” partly reads the post shared on Monday, 3rd October 2022.

The Facebook post was also followed with a lot of hashtags which is a red flag for potential disinformation campaign.

The article as put by the page.

An official at the Embassy of South Sudan in Nairobi dismissed the news as false. He said there was no Warrap Community Association election held around the time of the report. 

211 Check also ran a Google reverse image search of the picture used in the post, and the results showed that the image was first used by a Kenyan Newspaper, Business Daily in an article “Tycoon’s Sons in vicious fight for control of Nairobi Ambassadeur hotel” published on Wednesday, January 18th, 2017.

The same image as used in 2017

Conclusion:

211 Check finds the Facebook post claiming that dozens South Sudanese were injured during a community association election petition in Kenya false. The Embassy of South Sudan in Nairobi dismissed the news as false and the image used in the post is of unrelated event in 2017.

Writer: Emmanuel Bida Thomas

South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), a state-owned broadcaster, announced on Saturday, October 1, 2022, on its Facebook page that the speaker of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) reshuffled a list of elected members of parliament to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) who were elected on Friday, September 30, 2022, citing an incomplete document.

The post was deleted moments later.

Screenshot of SSBC News Facebook post deleted moments later

The document from the Speaker’s office was used to formally announce the results of all candidates, including those who lost. The announcement follows the original list of verified candidates. On the original list of verified candidates, each candidate was assigned a number.

The successful candidates were announced, and the Revitalized Transitional National Legislature confirmed the election of nine MPs to represent the country at the East African Legislative Assembly, or EALA, late on Friday.

On the same day, the clerk of the assembly listed finalists in a letter to the Secretary General of the East African Community.

Conclusion:

211 Check considers the SSBC news post, which was later deleted, misleading. The news outlet cited an incomplete document.

There were no babies born with anencephaly in their department on September 18, 2022, according to a member of the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital. He also stated that the images that are going around do not accurately depict the Juba Teaching Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology theater.

By Beatrice Amude

Aweil Eye, a Facebook page with over 6,000 followers claimed in a post on September 18, 2022 that a mother from South Sudan had given birth to an “old man” in Juba Teaching Hospital that day.

The claim was later widely shared on Facebook; here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here as well as in encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

But is it true that such a baby was born at Juba Teaching Hospital? 211 Check explores its research finding here:

Reverse image search on Google returns results of the same pictures allegedly of a woman who gave birth to a mysterious child at the Makeni Regional Hospital Northern Province of Sierra Leone, but no credible media reported on the same.

More results of the Google image search seem to show the same pictures used on Twitter long before these reports, but could not link to the original tweets.

Dr. Francis Geri a Gynecologist at Vital Care Medical and also works at Juba Teaching Hospital said that the picture was not taken in South Sudan.

He, however, described the abnormality as Anencephaly. According to him, Anencephaly is when a newborn with absence of a major portion of the brain, skull and scalp occurs during embryonic development. Geri told 211 Check that the main cause of the anencephaly is folic acid deficiency.

In the comments section of the same post, Riemon Koyani, who was among the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital on Sunday 18th September, 2022 said he did not see any baby with anencephaly in their department that day.

“I am among the surgical team of Sunday and I didn’t see anything like this in our department, in fact I attended all the cesarean sections that day and I never saw anything of that kind,” Riemon Koyani said.

He also confirmed that the pictures circulating were not taken from Juba Teaching Hospital since they do not match obstetrics and gynecology theater views.

What is Anencephaly?

Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp that occurs during embryonic development. It is a cephalic disorder that results from a neural tube defect that occurs when the rostral (head) end of the neural tube fails to close, usually between the 23rd and 26th day following conception.

Conclusion:

211 Check finds pictures allegedly of a woman who gave birth to an “old man” at Juba Teaching Hospital false. Riemon Koyani, who was among the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital on Sunday 18th September, 2022 said there was no baby with anencephaly in their department that day. 

The directive by the Bank of South Sudan for commercial banks to block and freeze accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is true. The Bank of South Sudan confirmed that the viral letter is its official document.

By Ochaya Jackson

The Bank of South Sudan has directed the blocking and freezing of accounts for Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited that claims it is affiliated to Silicone Valley Shares, in all the commercial banks in South Sudan.

The bank’s decision according to the document that went viral on social media, is that the Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is under investigation on compliance issues with the laws of South Sudan.

“The Bank of South Sudan (BOSS) top management would like to inform you that Silicon Valley Co. Ltd is still under investigation on issues related to compliance with all the relevant laws of South Sudan. Therefore, you are hereby directed to block and freeze the bank accounts of Silicon Valley Co. Ltd until further notice,” reads in part the document dated 23rd of September, 2022 signed by the bank’s director of supervision department, Deng Aru Bol and addressed to managing directors of all commercial banks in South Sudan.

The Bank of South Sudan confirmed the authenticity of the document and said they are the official and authentic source  when contacted by 211 Check.

What do commercial banks say?

The Equity Bank of South Sudan said it has not yet received “the official instruction from the central bank”, but confirmed that it had “already blocked the account of Silicon Valley when the rumors” about their business came out.

Ecobank, where most of the company’s bank wire is done and Co-operative Bank South Sudan could not immediately respond to our inquiries.

What does 211 Check know about Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited?

Silicone Valley Shares claims to be a venture capital firm with more than $6.4 billion in assets under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies.

The firm says it is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) headquartered in San Jose, California. Silicone Valley Shares also claims to have helped launch and commercialise 200-plus companies since 2010, including investments in DocuSign, Jet.com, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, Rapid7, SurveyMonkey, Taleo, and TellApart.

It entered the South Sudan Market and registered at the registrar of companies in the ministry of Justice in December 2021 as “Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited.” 

According to news reports by Eye Radio and the Sudans Post, hundreds of South Sudanese, including those who have invested thousands of dollars in the company, are worried about its legitimacy and legality in the United States, though the South Sudan Police Service says the company is legally registered with the government.

mGurush Partnership:

In this blog post on its website, Silicone Valley Shares states that its clients shall be accessing its services using MGurush, South Sudan’s pioneer mobile money platform that provides a fast, easy, safe and convenient way to send and receive money across the country.

However, in a tweet reply, mGurush said it was unaware of Silicone Valley Shares and that they were not in partnership.

Freezing of Silicone Valley Shares Bank Accounts:

On September 23, 2022, the Central Bank of South Sudan directed all commercial banks operating in the country to block and freeze all accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited. 

211 Check is still undertaking indepth research into Silicone Valley Shares and will publish its findings at a later date.

Conclusion:

211 Check has found that the directive by the Bank of South Sudan for commercial banks to block and freeze accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is true. The Bank of South Sudan confirmed that the viral letter is its official document.