Emmanuel BidaSeptember 20, 2025
“…Below is a photo of Cpt. Luka in detention…” reads a claim in a Facebook post on 18 September 2025 by Lam Paul Gabriel, SPLA-IO Spokesperson in which he announced the death of patriot Luka Gathok Nyuon, a protection officer of South Sudan’s suspended First Vice President Riek Machar.
The same photo has been widely shared on Facebook here, here, and here (archived link).
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However, the photo has been falsely attributed to show Luka Gathok Nyuon in detention.
The image used in the claim by Lam Paul Gabriel, SPLA-IO Spokesperson, is not a photo of Luka Gathok Nyuon or a recent detention.
Debunking the Claim:
Google reverse image search, a way of looking for the history of images online, returns a photo taken on November 14, 2011 (archived link) by AFP photographer Tony Karumba. The scene is Rumbek Central Prison in Lakes State, South Sudan.
In that photo, an unidentified prisoner is seen with large chains padlocked around his ankles. The prison is old, dating from the colonial era (Anglo-Egyptian condominium), and the setting clearly predates the recent events being alleged.
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The Radio Community (archived link) and Sudans Post (archived link) also debunked the same photo.
Our Verdict:
The ClarityDesk finds a claim by Lam Paul Gabriel that “a photo shows Luka in detention” to be false.
The photo attached to the announcement does not show Luka Gathok Nyuon or reflect any recent detention — it is an old image from 2011.
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 via +211 928 606 958.
The ClarityDesk
