{"id":47637,"date":"2026-09-08T14:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=47637"},"modified":"2026-09-08T14:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:11:08","slug":"dr-machar-trial-adjourned-after-court-lacks-full-judicial-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/dr-machar-trial-adjourned-after-court-lacks-full-judicial-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Machar trial adjourned after court lacks full judicial panel"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Proceedings in the trial of Dr. Riek Machar and seven other SPLM\/A-IO detainees were adjourned due to the lack of a full judicial panel.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the special court was unable to proceed, as one of the judges was absent due to health issues.<\/p>\n

The 114th session of the court was held at Freedom Hall in Juba and presided over by\u00a0Judge Dr. James Alala Deng.<\/p>\n

The session was adjourned after\u00a0Judge Simon Stephen fell sick and was unable to attend, leaving the court without its full panel.<\/p>\n

Judge Dr. James Alala Deng adjourned the proceedings until\u00a0Friday, September 11, 2026, when the judicial panel is expected to resume the case and consider several pending applications.<\/p>\n

Among the matters expected before the court is a fresh application from the defense concerning reported security threats against Dr. Machar, his co-accused, and members of their legal team.<\/p>\n

The defense has prepared an urgent application seeking immediate protective measures and an independent investigation into the reported threats.<\/p>\n

However, the application could not be presented on Monday because of the absence of Judge Simon Stephen.<\/p>\n

The defense did not disclose the specific nature of the reported threats, describing the matter as sensitive and requiring careful handling because of its potential security implications.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s session is also expected to address a defense application seeking clarification on the accused\u2019s constitutional right to legal counsel.<\/p>\n

The prosecution has filed a counter-application, which is also expected to be considered by the judicial panel.<\/p>\n

The Nasir Incident refers to deadly clashes that erupted in\u00a0Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025, involving government forces and armed opposition elements.<\/p>\n

The fighting resulted in significant loss of life and displacement, further deepening tensions in South Sudan and raising concerns about the country\u2019s fragile peace process.<\/p>\n

Following the violence, South Sudanese authorities established the\u00a0Special Court on the Incident of Nasir\u00a0to investigate and prosecute individuals accused of involvement in the events.<\/p>\n

Suspended First Vice President and SPLM\/A-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar and seven other SPLM\/A-IO detainees are facing proceedings before the court.<\/p>\n

The SPLM\/A-IO has rejected the tribunal, describing it as politically motivated and arguing that it undermines the revitalised agreement.<\/p>\n

The charges reported in the case include treason, murder or mass murder, terrorism, crimes against humanity, conspiracy, and destruction of property.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that the March 2025 attack on the SSPDF garrison in Nasir involved SPLA-IO forces and the White Army and resulted in the deaths of government soldiers and the destruction or seizure of military equipment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Yiep Joseph Proceedings in the trial of Dr. Riek Machar and seven other SPLM\/A-IO detainees were adjourned due to the lack of a full judicial panel. Yesterday, the special court was unable to proceed, as one of the judges was absent due to health issues. The 114th session of[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":47293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47637","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-Machar-during-one-of-the-court-sessions-courtesy-photo.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47637","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=47637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47638,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47637\/revisions\/47638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}