Judges at the Special Court hearing the trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and seven co-defendants on Monday delayed a ruling on a defence application seeking to make its own audio or video recordings of the proceedings.
The court had scheduled its 108th session to deliver the ruling. But Judge Stephen Simon Binjigwa, a member of the three-judge panel, said the judges had been unable to prepare the decision because they were also involved in constitutional panel proceedings.
“This session was fixed for the court to rule on the application of the defence, but due to the fact that the panel was involved in constitutional panel [proceedings], we were unable to write our judgment,” Simon said.
The defence had asked the court to allow it to make additional audio or video recordings of the proceedings, arguing that an independent record would help ensure an accurate account of the trial.
Prosecutors opposed parts of the request and questioned the procedure used by the defence to file the application, leaving the matter for the court to decide.
The court adjourned the case until Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the judges are expected to deliver their ruling on the defence request.
Machar, the fifth accused in the case, is on trial with seven others over violence in Nasir, Upper Nile state, in March 2025, when government forces suffered heavy casualties.
The defendants 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) and the White Army killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers, including commander General David Majur Dak, during an attack on a military garrison in Nasir.
They also allege 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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