Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The prosecution team in the ongoing trial of suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar has asked the Special Court to dismiss objections raised by the defence and to admit a key forensic evidence known as “Document 9H” as evidence.
The request follows renewed objections by the defence to a digital forensic report prepared by a South African expert.
The defence argues that the report was authenticated after the case had already been filed and after the court was established.
They also questioned the expert’s jurisdiction and the absence of authentication from the South African Embassy in Juba.
During the 55th court session on Friday, Prosecutor Advocate Ajo Ohisa told the three-judge panel that the defence had raised six observations, which he said could be summarized into two main issues: the timing of the report’s authentication and the lack of embassy authentication.
Ohisa argued that the authentication dates ranging from 1st to 11th September 2025 did not violate any law.
He said the court held its first session on 22nd September 2025, when both prosecution and defence were formally served with the court’s establishment order.
According to him, all authentication processes were completed before that date.
He cited Section 85(d) of the Evidence Act 2006 and Section 212 of South Africa’s Criminal Procedure Act of 1977, maintaining that there was no legal requirement breached.
On the question of embassy authentication, he said the relevant provisions of the Evidence Act explain why such authentication was not necessary.
The prosecution asked the court to dismiss the defence objections and formally mark Document 9H as part of the prosecution’s evidence.
Presiding Judge Justice Dr. James Alala Deng said the digital forensic report consists of multiple documents and requires more time for the court to review.
He adjourned the session to Monday, 2nd March, when the court is expected to rule on the admissibility of the report.
This marks the fourth adjournment of the case due to legal arguments between the two sides.
In earlier sessions, the judges adjourned proceedings to review the digital forensic report and later described it as disorganized, ordering the prosecution to restructure it.
The prosecution had apologized in the last session for the state of the documents before resubmitting them.
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