Africa-Press – South-Sudan. JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) — The Special Court heard investigators present statements from four of the accused on Friday, but Dr Riek Machar rejected the inquiry entirely, citing his constitutional immunity and refusing to recognize the Ministry of Justice’s investigating committee.
The sixth session of the Special Court on Friday saw investigators continue to present statements from four of the accused, while Dr Machar challenged the investigating committee.
The session began with Machar’s file, where prosecutors submitted four key documents as evidence, including an executive sanction for his arrest, an authorization letter for National Security, a ministerial order, and a document lifting the immunity of an MP, Gatwech Lam.
Despite objections from the defense team, the presiding judge admitted all four documents as prosecution documents into the court record. The judge then adjourned the hearing until Monday, October 6, for the prosecution to present further evidence.
Machar Challenges Legality
Dr. Machar, who is under suspension from the First Vice Presidency, took the stand to state that he refused to cooperate with the initial investigation, arguing that he did not recognize the committee formed by the Ministry of Justice.
Machar maintained that due to his constitutional immunity as First Vice President, he could not be investigated. He further argued that the incident in Nasir—which forms the basis of the charges—should be handled by the CTSAMVM monitoring body, as the complainant is the National Security Service.
His comments followed the investigator’s presentation of a statement allegedly recorded from Machar on April 14, 2025, after his arrest on March 26 via executive order.
When questioned by the judge, Machar admitted the statement was his but immediately challenged its content, asserting it contained a mixture and restating that he only provided the committee with a statement, not an official testimony, as he had questioned the legality of his arrest and the committee’s mandate.
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