A prosecution witness told the special court in Juba that First Vice President and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar allegedly spoke by phone with White Army fighters and SPLA-IO commanders before the attack on the army garrison in Nasir in March 2025.
Testifying on Wednesday, First Lieutenant Mohamed Ahmed Jidu, the fourth prosecution witness and a survivor of the Nasir attack, said he was informed by relatives by marriage and military sources that the call took place on 2 March and involved planning for the assault on South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) positions in Nasir.
Lt Jidu told the court during the 32nd session that tensions had been building from mid-February, with SSPDF soldiers coming under ambush while collecting firewood and fishing. He said civilians from areas surrounding the garrison began moving towards SPLA-IO barracks in Mandeng on 15 February, while the White Army held meetings at the county headquarters the following day.
According to the witness, heavily armed SPLA-IO forces later arrived in Nasir, prompting SSPDF commander Maj Gen Majur Dak to seek clarification from the then county commissioner, James Gatluak Gatluak Lew.
Lt Jidu said the Nasir commissioner told him that civilians had gone to Mandeng to receive UN food assistance and that SPLA-IO forces were providing security for a White Army leadership meeting.
The court heard that SPLA-IO forces later left the area to attack barges transporting SSPDF troops before returning to Nasir. On 1 March, a joint meeting involving SPLA-IO, the White Army and the commissioner allegedly elected Colonel Tor Gile as White Army leader.
Lt Jidu said that on 2 March, Dr Machar allegedly spoke by phone with White Army and SPLA-IO leaders in Nasir, a call he said ended on what he described as a “good moral” note. He said he was later informed that the call resulted in plans to attack the army garrison the following day.
On 3 March, Tor Gile allegedly led the first assault, which SSPDF forces repelled, killing him. A second attack the next morning, led by his deputy Kang Makana, who managed to overrun the garrison.
Lt Jidu told the court that he and Maj Gen Majur Dak were wounded and trapped inside an armoured personnel carrier (APC). He said senior SPLA-IO commanders later entered the garrison and that Majur received phone calls from Dr Machar urging him to surrender. Majur reportedly refused.
The witness said UN helicopters later attempted evacuations, but efforts were hampered by continued gunfire. Maj Gen Majur was later killed during the evacuation attempt, according to the prosecution. Survivors were eventually taken to a UN hospital in Malakal and later transferred to Juba.
Lt Jidu said those trapped in the APC survived for days on dry fish and water drained from the vehicle’s radiator.
At the opening of Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution and defence confirmed their presence, along with witnesses and a court translator. The defence informed the court that all the accused were present, except the sixth accused, Camilo Gamai Kel, whose absence was formally recorded.
Earlier in the session, the court heard testimony from a third witness, Captain Joseph Malong Akot, another survivor. He told judges that SPLA-IO and White Army fighters were operating together in Nasir and said he had previously been ambushed while collecting firewood, an incident he said was never investigated.
The trial is set to resume on Friday, 19 December 2025, when defence lawyers are expected to cross-examine the fourth witness.
Dr Machar and his co-accused face multiple charges, including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors allege that SPLA-IO forces allied with the White Army killed 257 SSPDF soldiers, including Gen Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth an estimated $58m.