Former South Sudan First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar has denied allegations that he ordered White Army leader Tor Gille Thoan to attack the military garrison in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025. Machar, the fifth accused, made the statements during the 125th session of his trial, disputing claims made by former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel. According to Machar, Bol Mel claimed that he ordered Tor Gille Thoan to act after learning that boats transporting government troops could not reach Nasir.
Machar explained that he had given instructions to Tor Gille Thoan, but was unclear about the nature of those orders. He stated that barges were taking SSPDF soldiers to replace or relieve SSPDF soldiers in the Nasir garrison at Wec-Yar-Adiu. Machar said two committees comprising members from Nasir and Ulang had been formed to receive the soldiers and that the barges had not been attacked. He claimed that he told the two commissioners, the chiefs, and youth leaders to tell the youths to go back to their villages in Nasir County on March 1, 2025.
Machar stated that the young people left Nasir and Ulang that afternoon, adding that the two commissioners confirmed their departure to him the following day. He said he held a telephone conference with the commissioners, Upper Nile State Governor James Odhok, and then Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Paul Nang Majok after gunboats could not proceed beyond Malual. Machar proposed to Gen. Paul Nang Majok to hire six big boats to transport the SSPDF forces and their logistics to Wec-Yar-Adiu, which Majok agreed to, for $60,000.
Machar also rejected Bol Mel's alleged claim that he had been asked to deploy Sudan People's Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) forces as a buffer between government troops and the White Army in Nasir. Instead, Machar pointed to clashes between South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) troops and local youth in Nasir in February 2024. According to Machar, SPLA-IO forces were deployed during those clashes to establish a buffer zone in Nasir town before withdrawing to their bases after relations between government forces and local youth improved.
Machar also discussed the political tensions preceding the Nasir incident, including fighting between SPLA-IO and SSPDF forces in Western Bahr el Ghazal and Western Equatoria in January and February 2025. He initially viewed the fighting as a violation of the peace agreement but later concluded that the country was returning to war. Machar linked the tensions to disagreements over the Tumaini Consensus, discussed during peace talks in Nairobi with opposition groups that had not signed the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Machar argued that the proposed consensus risked undermining the 2018 peace agreement and South Sudan's sovereignty. The court adjourned the session until Monday, November 2, 2026, when Machar is expected to continue his defence testimony. Machar and seven co-defendants 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 Gen. David Majur Dak, and destroyed or captured military equipment worth about $58 million during the March 2025 attack on the Nasir military garrison. Machar is under house arrest, while the other defendants are being held at National Security Service facilities in Juba. The co-defendants are Puot Kang Chol, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek, and Dominic Gatgok Riek.
Key points
- Machar denies ordering White Army leader Tor Gille Thoan to attack the Nasir military garrison.
- Machar disputes Bol Mel's claims about his role in the March 2025 violence.
- The trial has been adjourned until November 2, 2026.
