A special bodyguard for the late SSPDF army commander Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak told the special court Wednesday that First Vice President Riek Machar ordered guns to be handed over after Majur refused to surrender to Machar’s SPLA-IO forces.
Sgt. Mayen Kuol Chan, the sixth prosecution witness out of 16 and a survivor of the Nasir garrison attack, said Machar persuaded Majur by phone to surrender after the SPLA-IO captured the garrison in Nasir in March 2025, but Majur declined repeated demands and chose to remain at his position with his SSPDF forces.
During the 36th session at Freedom Hall, Kuol said that following Majur’s refusal, Machar instructed that Majur’s weapons be handed over to SPLA-IO forces.
Kuol said his family paid $6,000 to secure his release after he was detained by SPLA-IO forces at the Nasir garrison on March 7, 2025.
“When we reached Kuergenge, my uncle sent the money. Kuergenge is located in Ethiopia. My uncle sent $6,000 to someone called Gattuong, and he received it in Ethiopian birr,” he said.
He stated that after the payment, his family also booked a flight ticket, and he traveled from the area of Pagak to the capital, Juba.
During cross-examination, defense lawyer Deng John Deng asked whether Pagak was under the control of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces at the time.
Mayen responded that he was aware the area was under SSPDF control but stressed he did not identify himself as an SSPDF soldier.
“Yes, I know it was under SSPDF control, but I did not identify myself as a soldier,” he testified.
He said upon arrival at Juba International Airport, he was taken to the chief of military intelligence, where he was investigated by a Joint Military Investigation Committee on the Nasir incident.
Deng John Deng, a defense attorney for Machar, also asked Sgt. Mayen Kuol Chan whether Machar’s phone calls with Majur over three days were intended to arrange his evacuation to Juba.
“Machar called Majur and told him to surrender to the SPLA-IO forces, and when Majur refused, he said nobody should be allowed to leave military tanks with guns,” Kuol said.
Deng questioned Mayen about Majur’s phone, which Machar needed to use to communicate with him. Kuol, who was Majur’s bodyguard, stated that Majur’s phone was operational, but Machar chose to communicate exclusively through his own phone. He also mentioned that army leadership contacts Majur directly via his phone.
Deng asked Mayen how he understood the conversation between Machar and Majur, considering both communicate in English and Arabic. Kuol said, “Majur spoke with Machar in the Nuer language because Majur was fluent in the Naath or Nuer language.”
Proceedings were briefly adjourned for about 25 minutes after the court ruled that photographic exhibits requested by the defense were not immediately available and ordered court clerks to retrieve the documents.
When cross-examination resumed, defense lawyer Deng John questioned Mayen about photographs shown in court, including claims that the person in the images had broken teeth.
“I do not have broken teeth. The picture did not show me well,” Mayen told the court, disputing the identification.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng adjourned the session to Monday, Jan. 12, when the court is expected to decide on the prosecution’s application for witness protection to testify off-camera.
Machar and seven co-accused face multiple 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 seized military equipment worth an estimated $58 million during the Nasir garrison attack.