JUBA, South Sudan — A special court in South Sudan has ruled that it possesses the jurisdiction to prosecute suspended First Vice-President Riek Machar and seven co-accused on charges that include murder, treason, and crimes against humanity. The decision, which dismissed all objections raised by Machar’s legal team, clears the path for the politically explosive trial to continue on Wednesday.
The court systematically dismissed the defense’s arguments regarding the proceedings’ constitutionality, the court’s authority, and Machar’s alleged immunity from prosecution. Machar himself had previously dismissed the charges brought against him two weeks ago as a political “witch-hunt.”
The charges stem from a March attack attributed to a militia allegedly linked to Machar’s faction, an incident that resulted in the deaths of 250 soldiers and a general. Since that time, Machar has been under house arrest.
Machar’s defense had contended that the alleged crimes should not be tried by a national court, but rather by a hybrid court established under the African Union, as stipulated by the 2018 Peace Agreement that ended the nation’s five-year civil war.
The court, however, maintained that it had the immediate authority to try national offenses given that the hybrid court has not yet been established.
Presiding Judge James Alala firmly ruled on the matter of jurisdiction: “The special court enjoys jurisdiction to try this case according to the Transitional Constitution 2011 as amended.”
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Furthermore, the court rejected the defense’s argument that Machar holds immunity from prosecution, stating that the relevant constitutional provision applies only to the President.
“The First Vice-President does not have constitutional immunity, according to the transitional constitution,” the judge ruled.
In addition to the substantive rulings, the court expelled two of Machar’s lawyers after the prosecution successfully argued they lacked valid practicing licenses. The presiding judge stated that the two can only participate once their licenses have been renewed.
The charges against the former Vice-President have heightened fears of a renewed conflict in South Sudan, the world’s newest country, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
The United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and neighboring countries have all called for calm amidst the political instability.