Suspended Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol on Friday rejected allegations that he financed the White Army militia involved in violence in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, during hearings in the trial linked to suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.
Puot Kang, the first accused in the case, denied prosecution claims that he provided financial and logistical support to armed youth accused of attacking a military garrison in Nasir on March 3-4, 2025.
Addressing the special court during its 75th session, Kang, 41, said he had no connection to the fighting and described the allegations as “false”.
“The fact of the matter is I didn’t send $1,500 to Brig. Gen. Hokdor Chuol, who is actually my relative, for ritual purposes, nor am I aware of the alleged associate,” Kang told the court.
Kang is one of eight defendants, including Machar, 73, facing charges of treason, crimes against humanity, mass murder, terrorism and destruction of property over the March 2025 assault on a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) base in Nasir, Upper Nile State.
Lead investigator Maj. Gen. Basilio Thomas Wani previously alleged that Kang sent a total of $30,000 to mobilise youth across 15 payams, in addition to the disputed $1,500 allegedly intended for ritual purposes.
Investigators also alleged that Kang coordinated several cross-border money transfers, including 123,000 Kenyan shillings via M-Pesa to Gatwech Liem, an accused person still at large, and 625,000 Ethiopian birr to SPLA-IO officer Hokdor Chuol.
According to prosecutors, Kang acted as a financier and liaison between individuals in Juba and commanders of the White Army in Nasir and Ulang counties.
Kang disputed testimony presented by an expert witness, saying the witness alleged he had sent $1,500 to facilitate the purchase of livestock for a festival in Ulang County, while the lead police investigator claimed the funds were intended for ritual activities.
“I don’t know that person because his name was not mentioned, and I am not aware of the claimed messages, which were shown by the expert witness to have been sent by Brig. Gen. Hokdor Chuol and Brig. Gen. Timothy Biliem Ngang, and do not suggest anything,” he said.
Kang also denied allegations linking the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) to the White Army militia operating in Upper Nile State.
“It is equally important to mention that SPLM/A-IO and the White Army, or armed youth, are not the same. We are not one organization. The armed youth are one section; we are not the ones who formed them, and they are not part of us,” he told the court.
Prosecutors allege that forces of the SPLA-IO, 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 on the Nasir garrison in March 2025.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng adjourned the hearing until May 11, 2026, for judges to continue examining Kang.
Kang faces charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason and crimes against humanity.
Co-defendants include 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.
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