The Special Court trying former First Vice-President Riek Machar and seven co-accused has ordered police personnel whose names have been mentioned in an ongoing investigation into alleged threats against the accused and their defence team to stop attending court sessions with immediate effect.
The investigation follows an application by Machar’s defence team, which raised concerns about alleged threats to the lives and safety of Machar, his co-accused and members of the defence team.
The defence was not permitted to disclose details of the alleged threats publicly in court. Lead defence lawyer Geri Raimondo Legge had previously told the court that there was a serious threat to the lives of the eight accused and members of the defence team, particularly Dr. Machar, the fifth accused.
The directive was issued on Wednesday during the court’s 118th session, presided over by Judge James Alala Deng, as the court considered concerns about the safety of the accused and their defence team.
Judge Deng ordered the affected court police personnel not to attend proceedings while investigations into the matter continue.
“All court police personnel whose names have been mentioned in the investigation will be banned from attending sessions with immediate effect,” Judge Deng said as he read out the court’s directives.
He also directed all security forces deployed to the court premises to ensure the safety of the accused and their defence lawyers while escorting them to and from their respective locations.
The judge further ordered security personnel to clear the roads while the accused and defence teams were being escorted to ensure their safe passage.
“All deployed forces to the court are ordered to secure the place while escorting all the accused persons and defence [lawyers] to their respective places, and all roads should be cleared while the accused and defence are escorted,” he said.
The measures form part of the court’s directives concerning the investigation and the protection of the accused and members of the defence team.
The court is expected to rule on an application filed by the defence and a counter-application by the prosecution on 2 October 2026.
Machar and the seven other defendants are on trial over violence in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025, in which 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 Dr Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), together with the White Army militia, killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers, 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 $58m was destroyed or seized during the fighting.
Machar and the other defendants have denied the charges.
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