Trial of South Sudan’s Riek Machar Begins Amid Renewed Conflict Concerns

The treason trial of South Sudan’s suspended First Vice President, Riek Machar, commenced on Monday under stringent security measures in Juba, the nation’s capital. Machar’s legal team has challenged the court’s authority to adjudicate the case, citing his immunity as a sitting vice president.

Machar has been confined under house arrest since March, a situation that has sparked concerns about a potential resurgence of the brutal civil war that devastated the country between 2013 and 2018. That conflict pitted Machar’s Nuer forces against the Dinka-aligned loyalists of President Salva Kiir.

Machar’s party, the SPLM-IO, has categorically denied all charges brought against him and 20 others, which include murder, treason, and crimes against humanity. These allegations stem from accusations that they orchestrated violent raids by the Nuer-dominated White Army militia in northeastern South Sudan earlier this year.

At the special trial, held in a venue usually reserved for social events, Machar was presented in a dark suit and cobalt blue tie behind black bars. This marked his first public appearance since being placed under house arrest. President Kiir suspended Machar by decree earlier this month soon after the charges were announced. Court access was restricted to the state-run broadcaster.

Machar’s lead attorney, Geri Raimondo Legge, denounced the tribunal, stating it was “unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and void” due to Machar’s vice presidential immunity. He urged the court to immediately release Machar and seven other co-defendants—among them the petroleum minister—who were arrested alongside him.

In rebuttal, prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohisa Igele dismissed the defense’s claims as “unfounded and weak.”

The government accuses Machar of backing the White Army militia, predominantly composed of Nuer youth, in armed clashes with government forces in the town of Nasir in March. These confrontations led to dozens of civilian deaths and displaced over 80,000 people.

Both Kiir and Machar, now in their seventies, had been serving together within a fragile unity government established through a peace accord intended to end the civil war. Their relationship has been marked by decades of conflict, with Machar having a history as a rebel leader opposing Kiir.

The trial’s outcome and its political repercussions will be closely watched as South Sudan navigates its precarious peace and stability.