The ClarityDeskJune 20, 2025
Fact-checker: Angelina Adut Akech
A circular making the rounds on social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook, claiming that South Sudan’s government, through the Ministry of Labour, had announced 16th — 18th June 2025 as a public holiday is false.
This post came immediately after announcing the result of a youth group election that was conducted on Sunday, 15 June 2025, in Sherikat, an outskirt of South Sudan’s capital, Juba. The elections were to determine the youth leader of the Twic East Youth Association (TEYA) in Juba. The campaigns attracted four candidates, of which Deng Junior emerged the winner.
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Juba Times, a Facebook page that describes itself as a news & Media website with over seven hundred thousand (700,000) followers, also shared the circular with a caption:
Public Announcement: Deng Jr’s Victorious Day Holiday
The Ministry of Labour, South Sudan, has declared Deng Jr’s Victorious Day as a public holiday from Monday, 16th June 2025, to Wednesday, 18th June 2025. Work will resume on Thursday, 19th June 2025.
This announcement applies to all Civil Service Institutions, Commissions, Diplomatic Missions, UN Agencies, International and National NGOs, and the general public.
Wishing everyone a joyful and peaceful celebration!
Immediately the claim started making the rounds, and people started questioning the originality and the truth about the circular. This prompted the ClarityDesk team to investigate.
Debunking the Claim:
Although the document itself seems official, a close look at it shows that the letterhead uses a wrong logo and stamp of the Ministry of Labour. While it uses the South Sudan emblem, the real logo of the ministry doesn’t bear the emblem.
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A Google search of the keywords public holidays in South Sudan, returns all the gazetted public holidays in the country from January to December. This doesn’t include the claimed dates.
In addition, when looking at the calendar of South Sudan, there is no such day with that name whatsoever. Here are some prominent sites with detailed information about South Sudan’s public holiday: Ministry of Labour, office holidays, Office holiday, and Time & Date. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour has announced other holidays, such as Labour Day on May 1st and Eid al-Fitr in late March and early April; this was never in their system.
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A public holiday cannot be declared if a person wins a local election for a private organization like a youth group.
Public holidays are declared by national or state-level governments through an official, legal process. This power is held by a President, Parliament, or a state. A local youth group is a private entity and has no legal authority to declare a holiday for the general public.
Public holidays are meant to commemorate events of significant national, historical, or religious importance that affect the entire population.
A local election for a small group is a private matter for that organization. While it’s a great achievement for the winner and the group, it doesn’t have the widespread public significance required to justify a national or regional holiday where schools, banks, and government offices would close.
Verdict:
The circular announcing a public holiday from 16 to 18 June 2025, as Deng Junior’s victory day, is false. The message could have been generated as satire, but many people may end up believing it.
Have you spotted an error in this article and would like to request a correction, or have you come across a claim that we should investigate? Please send us an email via editor@claritydesk.org or click here to WhatsApp us.
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