South Sudan on edge as Riek Machar faces historic treason trial after court rejects immunity claim
Machar, who has been under house arrest since March, was formally charged two weeks ago along with seven others over alleged links to a militia attack that killed a general and 250 soldiers.
A special court in South Sudan has ruled that it has the authority to prosecute suspended Vice President Riek Machar on charges of treason, murder, and crimes against humanity, rejecting a defence bid to stop the trial.
On Monday, the judges dismissed arguments from Machar’s legal team that the case was unconstitutional and that he enjoyed immunity from prosecution.
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His lawyers had also requested that the matter be transferred to a hybrid court supported by the African Union (AU) under the 2018 peace deal, which ended five years of fighting between Machar’s forces and troops loyal to President Salva Kiir.
“The special court enjoys jurisdiction to try this case according to the Transitional Constitution 2011 as amended,” Presiding Judge James Alala ruled, according to the BBC.
No constitutional immunity
“The First Vice-President does not have constitutional immunity, according to the transitional constitution.”
The trial is set to resume on Wednesday.
Machar, who has been under house arrest since March, was formally charged two weeks ago along with seven others.
They are accused of involvement in an attack by a militia allegedly linked to him that killed a general and 250 soldiers.
The former rebel leader has rejected the allegations, calling the trial a political “witch-hunt.” His lead lawyer, Geri Raimondo Legge Lubati, told the court that senior officials had carried out a “politicised media campaign” against the defendants.
“To the public, this conduct amounts to unlawful and prior conviction of our accused and a blatant violation of the constitutional guarantee of presumption of innocence... The accused is innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.
The high-profile case has heightened tensions in Juba and fuelled fears of renewed instability in the fragile nation, still struggling to recover from years of civil war.
Following the announcement of charges, Machar’s party, the SPLM/SPLA-IO, urged supporters to mobilise in protest against the government’s decision to prosecute their leader — a move that has sparked concerns of a possible return to conflict.
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