{"id":46717,"date":"2026-08-08T12:16:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=46717"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:22:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T10:22:46","slug":"machar-seeks-permission-to-use-his-own-cameras-to-record-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/08\/machar-seeks-permission-to-use-his-own-cameras-to-record-testimony\/","title":{"rendered":"Machar seeks permission to use his own cameras to record testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yiep Joseph<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar has asked the special court to allow him and his legal team to make their own audio and video recordings of his testimony.<\/p>\n

He argued that his presentations should be preserved as part of the country’s historical and legal record.<\/p>\n

The request was made during Friday’s court proceedings, where Machar said an independent digital recording would ensure that his account remains available to the people of South Sudan and future generations.<\/p>\n

Court proceedings are already being officially recorded by cameras under the control of the Judiciary.<\/p>\n

However, Machar’s request goes beyond the existing arrangement, seeking permission for him and his defense team to bring and use their own recording equipment to capture his testimony and presentations.<\/p>\n

Machar argued that preserving his testimony through recordings under his own team’s control would help safeguard the historical record of the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Machar presented four reasons in support of his request.<\/p>\n

First, he said the recording would preserve what he described as the truth of the case for South Sudanese citizens.<\/p>\n

He argued that an accurate audiovisual record would provide a permanent account of his testimony beyond written court transcripts.<\/p>\n

Second, Machar said the recording would safeguard the court record against any future political or security developments that could threaten the preservation of official documents.<\/p>\n

He maintained that digital archives would offer greater protection than conventional paper records.<\/p>\n

His third argument focused on the broader significance of the trial. Machar told the court that his testimony could become an important reference for future judicial proceedings and academic research.<\/p>\n

Given his position as South Sudan’s suspended First Vice President, he said the case carries legal, political and historical importance extending beyond the current proceedings.<\/p>\n

Finally, Machar argued that the testimony should be preserved for future generations regardless of changes in the country’s political or security environment.<\/p>\n

He said ensuring long-term access to the proceedings would contribute to the nation’s historical record.<\/p>\n

Machar also urged the judiciary to expand its use of technology, pointing to computers donated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to support the digitisation of the country’s justice system.<\/p>\n

He argued that recording court proceedings would be consistent with ongoing efforts to modernise judicial administration.<\/p>\n

The prosecution opposed the application. Lead Prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohissa argued that because Machar is represented by legal counsel, he should not personally make such an application before the court.<\/p>\n

The prosecution requested additional time to submit a written response to the request.<\/p>\n

The court declined to make an immediate ruling, instead granting the prosecution time to respond and adjourning proceedings until Aug. 10.<\/p>\n

The case has drawn significant public attention, with the debate over digitally recording Machar’s testimony highlighting broader questions about transparency, judicial modernisation and the preservation of records in one of South Sudan’s most closely watched legal proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Yiep Joseph Suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar has asked the special court to allow him and his legal team to make their own audio and video recordings of his testimony. He argued that his presentations should be preserved as part of the country’s historical and legal record.[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","category-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Dr.-Riek-Machar-during-one-of-the-court-sessions-courtesy-photo.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46719,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46717\/revisions\/46719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}