Suspended Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol on Wednesday denied allegations that he received battle intelligence and operational updates linked to the March 2025 attack on the Nasir garrison in Upper Nile State.
The allegations were made by Maj. Gen. Basilio Thomas Wani, the lead police investigator, during the 11th hearing session of the case.
Wani told the court that intelligence reports obtained via WhatsApp allegedly linked Puot Kang to communications with members of the White Army militia and SPLA-IO forces involved in the assault.
He said the reports allegedly showed Kang received detailed updates on casualties and wounded personnel, as well as timing of military operations at the Nasir garrison in March 2025.
The prosecution also accused him of sending an undisclosed amount of money to SPLM-IO Brig. Gen. Hokdor Chuol for the purchase of weapons and ammunition allegedly used in the attack.
In his testimony during the 79th session at Freedom Hall in Juba, Puot Kang, the first accused in the ongoing trial, denied the allegations, insisting he neither requested nor received any battle intelligence linked to the operation.
“I didn’t request anyone to send me a battle plan, including timing, and no one sent me the alleged intelligence report on the Nasir garrison attack, including the list of those killed and wounded,” Kang said.
He said he is a son of Nasir and one of its political leaders, with family members and relatives in the area who naturally keep him informed about developments, which he said is not a crime.
“I am a public figure whose contact is known to many people. As a result, I may not even know the identity of who could have sent me what and when,” he said.
“I also fail to understand how the claimed list of those killed and wounded caused the fighting in Nasir.”
Kang denied communicating with SPLA-IO commander Hokdor Chuol regarding the purchase of weapons and ammunition, which investigators allege were used in the assault on the Nasir military garrison.
“I neither read his message nor responded to it. I only saw the message here in this honourable court for the first time,” he said.
A South African digital forensic expert, Ratlhogo Peter Calvin, during the 47th session, presented photographic and video exhibits allegedly extracted from Kang’s phone.
These included a four-minute video shown in court featuring Ter Chuol Gatkuoth, described as a White Army leader in Nasir, asking about money to be sent to them.
Another video showed Colonel Tor Gile Thoan addressing White Army and SPLA-IO members a day before the attack on the Nasir garrison.
The court also viewed a video featuring a White Army commander speaking in the Nuer language, containing a direct message to Riek Machar in his capacity as chairman and commander-in-chief of the SPLM/A-IO.
Kang said he did not know how videos featuring Tor Gile Thoan, Ter Chuol Gatkuoth and armed youth ended up on his phone.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng adjourned the hearing to Friday, May 22, 2026, for judges to continue examining Kang.
Kang is one of eight defendants facing charges including treason, crimes against humanity, murder, terrorism and destruction of property over the March 2025 attack on a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces base in Nasir, Upper Nile State.
Co-defendants include suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek and Dominic Gatgok Riek.
Machar remains under house arrest, while the co-accused are being held by the National Security Service.
Prosecutors allege that SPLA-IO forces allied with the White Army militia killed 257 SSPDF soldiers, including commander David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million during the attack.
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