By Yiep Joseph
The defense team in the trial of suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and seven co-accused continued cross-examining the prosecution’s digital forensic expert.
During the 64th session on Wednesday, the focus was on the reliability and relevance of expert’s findings from the devices of the accused persons.
Under questioning by defense lawyer Dr. Gerry Raimondo Legge, Digital and forensic expert Rafadi admitted that parts of his analysis were based on his own opinion.
The expert expressed that some part of the report was his opinion that was driven from what he found in the devices of the accused persons.
He told the court that labelling certain messages as “malicious” was his interpretation of extracted communications involving the accused.
Dr. Legge also raised concerns about photographs and other materials dating back to 2021 and 2022, included in the report despite the case focusing on the March 2025 Nasir incident.
Rafadi confirmed he was aware of the time difference but said he included the materials because they contained keywords such as “youth” and “guns,” and they illustrated broader patterns identified in the investigation.
“One of the photos, dated August 30, 2022, shows armed youth in the bush. These were extracted from Mam Pal’s phone and form part of my additional findings,” Rafadi said.
The defense argued that including older photos could mislead the court, as they may not be directly related to the events under investigation.
Presiding Judge Dr. James Alala Deng adjourned the proceedings to Wednesday, April 8, 2026, for the defense to continue its cross-examination of the digital expert.
Dr. Machar and his co-accused face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors allege that SPLA-IO forces allied with the White Army killed 257 SSPDF soldiers, including commander David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment valued at about $58 million during the March 2025 attack on the Nasir garrison.