The trial of suspended South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar and seven co-defendants was adjourned on Monday after one of the three judges fell ill, leaving the panel without the quorum needed to continue proceedings.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng said the court could not proceed because Judge Stephen Simon was unwell and unable to attend. Justice Isaac Pur Majok was also present when the trial resumed on Monday.
The court had been on a week-long adjournment to consider two applications, one from the defence and another from prosecutors.
The defence has asked the court to clarify and apply what it says is the correct statutory procedure for the remaining defendants. Prosecutors have filed a counter-application seeking to have the defendants questioned on the prosecution’s evidence before they are allowed to submit written defence statements.
The court adjourned the proceedings until Friday, Sept. 11 to allow the prosecution to respond to the defence submissions.
Machar and the seven other defendants are being tried over violence in Nasir, Upper Nile state, in March 2025, when government forces suffered heavy casualties.
They face charges including treason, murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors allege that forces aligned with Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), together with the White Army militia, killed 257 soldiers of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), including military commander General David Majur Dak, during an attack on a military garrison in Nasir.
The prosecution has also alleged that military equipment worth about $58 million was destroyed or seized during the fighting.
Machar and the other defendants have denied the charges.
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