By Yiep Joseph
The court trials for Dr. Riek Machar and the seven co-accused reached the cross-examination session.
This session followed an examination-in-chief that took place on October 22, 2025, where the prosecution team posed questions to the lead investigator.
As the court progresses with cross-examinations during the 14th session on October 24, 2025, a dilemma arises over missing items alleged to have been seized from the accused during the area search.
Defense lawyers question the lead investigator regarding the missing items from the accused.
The team alleged that the security apparatus during the time of the arrest seized some of the items from some of the accused; however, such items were not brought before the court.
During the session, Dr. Geri Raimondo Legge from the defense team questioned the lead investigator on the whereabouts of some of the items confiscated from the accused during the time of the arrest.
Dr. Geri requested the lead investigator to inform the court on missing items.
He revealed that the missing items included ten cars, comprising five private and five government-owned vehicles suspected to have been seized from the house of the accused No. 1 during the time of the arrest.
“Are you aware that several items, such as ten vehicles, were seized from the house of the first accused?” Dr. Geri questioned the lead investigator.
In response, Maj. Gen. Basilio Thomas Wani, the lead investigator, told the court that he is unaware of the whereabouts of the cars.
“I am not aware,” Thomas told the court.
Dr. Geri added that two Thuraya satellite phones, a digital medical watch, books, and documents were reported to have been confiscated from the fifth accused, Dr. Riek Machar, during the time of the arrest.
In response, the lead investigator acknowledged the seizure of the documents from the accused, No. 5, during the time of the arrest.
“I am not aware of the two Thuraya satellite phones and the digital medical watch. The only thing I know about is the documents that were seized,” he said.
The defense also raised that some valuables were seized from the second accused, Mam Pal Dhuor, a businessman, during his arrest.
Dhuor, according to the defense, was arrested at the airport, and his valuables also got confiscated by the security apparatus.
Among items seized from the second accused were a gold chain, two gold rings, two watches, an HP laptop, a passport, a bag, and $1,158.
In response, the investigator said that Dhuor’s recorded statement listed additional items taken, such as two watches, an HP laptop, two rings, passports, a bag, an iPhone 16, a Samsung Pro-16, a Nokia phone, $1,158, and 23,000 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
When asked by the defense about the whereabouts of the items not presented before the court, investigator Thomas said he did not know.
Background
The trial, which began on September 22, 2025, is hearing charges against Machar and seven others for murder, conspiracy, terrorism, financing of terrorist acts, treason, destruction of public property and military assets, and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed during the March 2025 Nasir incident.
In a separate court decision, the special court dismissed the defense’s request to access case files and copies of the evidence, citing a lack of legal basis.
The presiding judge, Dr. James Alala Deng, added that there was no legal ground since the authors will appear before court to testify to the evidence, which the defense will be allowed to examine.
“The court will summon the authors of this evidence when the time comes, and the defense will examine them,” he said.
The court also noted that the defense had used an incorrect case title in their applications.
While the prosecution maintains the title is The Republic of South Sudan vs. Puot Kang and Seven Others, the defense has filed under The Republic of South Sudan vs. Dr. Riek Machar and Seven Others.
The presiding judges described this as a wrong attitude, emphasizing that the two teams cannot use different titles for a single case. The court ordered the defense to correct the titles and resubmit their applications on Monday, October 27, 2025.
The applications included requests for special healthcare provisions, including appropriate dressing and feeding, citing that several accused are unwell.