By Yiep Joseph
The suspended petroleum minister, Puot Kang Chol, on Friday used his testimony before a special court in Juba to accuse some senior government officials of being responsible for the Nasir conflict, his arrest, and the ongoing instability.
Appearing before the court during the 80th hearing session, Puot told the court that the violence in Nasir and the subsequent war were triggered by decisions made by top state officials.
“Your Lordship, it is important to inform this honourable court and the people of South Sudan that the Nasir incident, our arrest, and the ongoing war in South Sudan are squarely the responsibility of the accusers,” Puot told the court.
He specifically named former Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lumuro, Defense Minister Gen. Chol Thon Balok, Justice Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, and former Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Paul Nang Majok among those he accused of contributing to the crisis.
Puot claimed that while the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) remained committed to implementing the 2018 revitalised peace agreement, some government officials allegedly undermined the process by deploying non-unified forces to Nasir instead of the unified forces agreed upon by the Joint Defense Board.
“These individuals pushed for the deployment of non-unified forces to Nasir instead of unified forces as agreed by the Joint Defence Board,” he said.
He further accused the officials of being behind aerial bombardments carried out in parts of Upper Nile and Jonglei states following the outbreak of fighting.
Throughout his testimony, Puot rejected accusations that he or his co-defendants planned or coordinated the March 2025 attack on the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) garrison in Nasir.
“We, the eight accused before the court, have never agreed to attack the SSPDF garrison in Nasir because we are for peace and we stand by it,” he said.
Kang also dismissed prosecution claims that the accused held meetings to undermine the peace agreement, insisting there was no physical, virtual, or telephone communication among them regarding any attack.
“We have never met physically, virtually, or on the phone to discuss any agenda against the implementation or violation of the agreement,” he said, arguing that prosecutors had failed to provide documentary evidence, such as meeting records, to support their allegations.
The prosecution did not immediately respond to the claims raised during Friday’s proceedings.
Dr. Machar and his co-accused face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity. Machar remains under house arrest, while the other suspects are being held at facilities run by the National Security Service in Juba.
The co-defendants are Puot Kang Chuol, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek, and Dominic Gatgok Riek.
Prosecutors allege that forces linked to the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition, together with the White Army militia, killed 257 soldiers from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, including commander David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million during an attack on the Nasir garrison in March 2025.