Former South Sudan First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar on Wednesday denied ordering White Army leader Tor Gille Thoan to attack the military garrison in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025.
Testifying during the 125th session of his trial, Machar, the fifth accused, disputed allegations he attributed to former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel about his role in the violence.
Machar said Bol Mel had claimed in a speech at the burial of Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak that Machar ordered Tor Gille Thoan to act after learning that boats transporting government troops could not reach Nasir.
“I didn’t know the nature of those orders I gave to Tor. What I know is that barges were taking SSPDF soldiers to replace or relieve SSPDF soldiers in the Nasir garrison at Wec-Yar-Adiu,” Machar said.
He said two committees comprising members from Nasir and Ulang had been formed to receive the soldiers and that the barges had not been attacked.
“I 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,” he said.
Machar said 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.
“Since the barges could not move further than Malual, I proposed to Gen. Paul Nang Majok to hire six big boats to transport the SSPDF forces and their logistics to Wec-Yar-Adiu,” Machar said.
He said Majok had agreed to pay $60,000 to hire the boats, as requested by their owners.
“The commissioner of Ulang and the members of the committee had gone to where the gunboats got stuck. The commissioner met the first commander in the gunboat. The mission was called off without me being informed by Gen. Paul Nang Majok,” he said.
Buffer zone
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.
He said no such request had been made, pointing instead 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.
He also rejected allegations that he had refused to cooperate with the United Nations or misled the international body about the situation in Nasir.
Machar said he had asked the UN to evacuate Gen. David Majur Dak and 26 soldiers from Nasir after young people captured Wec-Yar-Adiw.
Peace agreement
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 said he initially viewed the fighting as a violation of the peace agreement but later concluded that the country was returning to war.
He also 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.
Charges and allegations
Machar and seven co-defendants face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.
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.
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.
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