South Sudan’s chief justice has granted two lawyers special permission to rejoin the defense team for suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and seven others in a high-profile case, days after they were removed from the courtroom for not having valid practicing licenses.
The lawyers, Deng John Deng and Warnyang Kiir Warnyang, were ejected from the proceedings this week after the prosecution challenged their credentials. The prosecution, represented by Dr. Sabri Wani Ladu, argued that the two had not renewed their licenses by the January deadline as required by the country’s Advocate Act of 2013.
“It is unfair to allow advocates who are not licensed to present the case,” Wani told the court last Wednesday, submitting a Bar Council list that he said showed the lawyers were not enrolled.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng agreed and ordered the two advocates to leave, stating that only the chief justice had the authority to grant them special leave to appear.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice Dr. Benjamin Baak Deng issued the special leave, according to two official documents reviewed by Radio Tamazuj. The approvals, issued under Section 182 of the South Sudan Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 2008, permit the lawyers to appear specifically in Criminal Case No. 1533 of 2025.
The defense team is led by Dr. Geri Raimondo Legge, a former Court of Appeal judge and current law professor at the University of Juba. With the return of Deng and Warnyang, the full team now includes advocates Kur Lual Kur, Anis Tombe Augustino, and Regina Akeriw Deng.
The trial is being heard by a Special Court established on Sept. 1. The three-judge panel, all Supreme Court justices, is led by James Alala Deng and includes Justices Stephen Simon Bejingwa and Isaac Pur Majak. Proceedings are taking place at Juba’s Freedom Hall.
The case, which began on Sept. 22, involves Machar, 73, and seven co-accused: Puot Kang Chuol, 40; Mam Pal Dhuor, 37; Gatwech Lam Puoch, 66; Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, 53; Kamilo Gatmai Kel, 47; Mading Yak Riek, 45; and Dominic Gatgok Riek, 27.
The accused face charges including treason, crimes against humanity, mass murder, terrorism, and destruction of property.
On Friday, Oct. 3, the court is scheduled to hear the investigator read out statements from the remaining four accused, including Machar.
The case relates to March 2025 attacks on an army base in Nasir County that killed a general and dozens of soldiers. The government has alleged the assaults were carried out by Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) and an allied militia known as the White Army.