Machar Treason Trial Opens Amid Tension as Defence Challenges Court’s Legitimacy
The treason trial of South Sudan’s suspended First Vice President, Riek Machar, opened on Monday under heavy security, with his lawyer insisting the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
Machar, who has been under house arrest since March, faces charges that have stirred fears of renewed conflict in a country still scarred by the brutal 2013–2018 civil war between his Nuer forces and Dinka fighters loyal to President Salva Kiir.
The charges against Machar and 20 others include treason, murder and crimes against humanity, linked to attacks earlier this year by the Nuer-dominated White Army militia in the northeast. His SPLM-IO party has dismissed the accusations as baseless.
Making his first public appearance since his detention, Machar arrived at the special court dressed in a dark suit and cobalt blue tie, standing behind black bars. Kiir had suspended him by decree shortly after the charges were announced.
The court session was held in an event space often used for weddings and concerts, but media access was tightly restricted, limited to the state broadcaster.
Geri Raimondo Legge, Machar’s lawyer, condemned the proceedings as unconstitutional.
“The court was unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and void,” Legge argued, insisting Machar retained immunity as vice president.
He prayed the court to “order the immediate discharge of His Excellency Dr Riek Machar Teny, the first vice president of the republic of South Sudan, and the seven accused persons for being arrested and detained unconstitutionally.”
But prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohisa Igele dismissed the defence’s submission, describing it as unfounded and weak.
Among those charged alongside Machar is the petroleum minister and seven others.
The government accuses Machar of backing the White Army militia during violent clashes in March in Nasir, northeastern South Sudan, which left dozens dead and displaced more than 80,000 people.
Kiir and Machar, both in their 70s, have had a fraught relationship spanning more than three decades. Despite forming a fragile unity government under a peace deal that ended the civil war, mistrust between the two men continues to cast a shadow over the nation’s stability.
