Thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully in a stronghold of South Sudan’s main opposition group on Saturday, demanding the release of First Vice President Riek Machar, who is suspended and facing trial over his alleged connection to a deadly militia attack.
Machar, 73, stands accused in a special court for his alleged role in a March assault on an army base in Nasir County. Government officials said the attack killed more than 250 soldiers.
Machar, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), has been under house arrest in the capital, Juba, since March 26.
Protesters and a local official in Nyirol County, Jonglei State, condemned the legal proceedings as a politically motivated “witch-hunt.” The county is a stronghold of the opposition SPLM-IO and part of the Lou Nuer community.
“The protest was a peaceful one. The popular demand of the civil population is that Machar and other co-accused be freed,” said resident John Both.
Another demonstrator, Both Jal, echoed the distrust in the domestic judicial process. “What is happening in Juba is politically motivated,” Jal said. “Otherwise, we want those accused to be tried by a neutral international court.”
Peter Gatkuoth Koang, the SPLM-IO-appointed commissioner for Nyirol County, said he authorized the demonstration as a constitutional right. He expressed concerns about the opacity of the trial.
“First, detention and court trial of our officials are politically motivated. We want them released,” Koang said. “Another concern is that there is a malice in the canceling of the live court trials. They are planning something illegal.”
Saturday’s demonstration was the second major public outcry over Machar’s detention. Last month, thousands of residents in an internally displaced persons camp in Bentiu held a similar protest and submitted a petition to the United Nations mission calling for his release.