15/12/2025
๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐: ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐.๐. ๐๐ซ. ๐๐ข๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐/๐ (๐๐) ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ฌ
Juba, December 15, 2025 โ The politically motivated court โ known as the "Special Court on Nasir Incident"โ established by the SPLM (IG) to try First Vice President H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the SPLM/A (IO), along with seven other senior movement detainees, held its 31st session today at Freedom Hall.
During today's session, the defense and the court cross-examined the prosecution's second witness, Brigadier General Santino Akot Abiem, a member of the Joint Verification Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM). Gen. Abiem claimed to have been in charge of the evacuation process of the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSPDF) personnel who were stranded after armed youth overran the Wech-Yar-Adiu garrison in Nasir County, Upper Nile State on March 6, 2025. The prosecution also introduced its third witness in the case.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ-๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐
In response to a question from the defense, Gen. Abiem stated that he received a call from the SSPDF Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), General Paul Nang, on March 4, 2025, requesting him to coordinate with international partners to evacuate the trapped SSPDF soldiers from Nasir.
He alleged that the request was made verbally because the target area was under the control of opposition forces, and that he would only send a written letter if the operation were to be conducted in an area under the control of the SSPDF.
When asked about a proposal submitted by H.E. Dr. Riek Machar to evacuate the forces via hiring a civilian aircraft, Gen. Abiem denied having any knowledge of it. He stated that he personally wrote the evacuation report based on recommendations from the CDF.
He also added that the coordination between the Red Cross and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was limited to one meeting, with the rest of the meetings conducted by phone.
Furthermore, he testified that UNMISS had started coordinating with IGAD and the Office of the President to obtain security guarantees.
Regarding the entities he coordinated with in Juba, Malakal, and Nasir, Gen. Abiem clarified that he worked with UNMISS at its headquarters adjacent to the airport in Juba, with a field officer in Malakal, and with the Nasir Commissioner, Hon. James Gatluak Lew, in Nasir.
When asked if the involved parties had prepared a comprehensive report following the failure of the evacuation, he stated that no such report was made.
Gen. Abiem also alleged that he coordinated with the head of the United Nations Field Office in Malakal, who was in contact with the fifth accused in the case, Dr. Riek Machar.
He affirmed that he had no information about an investigation conducted by the United Nations into the evacuation. However, he mentioned that he received an official letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that a high-level United Nations delegation would arrive from New York to investigate the Nasir incident, but later received another letter postponing the visit indefinitely. After that, the defense concluded its cross-examination.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ-๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ
The court panel then posed several questions to the prosecution's second witness. When asked if he had visited Nasir, Gen. Abiem replied in the negative. He was also asked if he had met or had a meeting with the fifth accused, Dr. Riek Machar, and confirmed that he had never met him.
Regarding the source of his report, Gen. Abiem stated that it was based on data obtained from UNMISS, including video clips and maps.
The judge asked Gen. Abiem if he had any information about the remaining accused, apart from the fifth one, and he responded that he had no information about them.
When asked about the guarantees requested by the Red Cross, Gen. Abiem explained that the Red Cross requested guarantees regarding the safety of their planes, crew, and representatives who were planning to supervise the evacuation in Nasir.
He alleged that the First Vice President provided them with these guarantees. However, the Red Cross eventually refused to participate in the evacuation due to a lack of trust in the Nasir Commissioner and the field commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), according to Gen. Abiem.
Finally, when asked about the entity that requested the guarantees related to the White Army, Gen. Abiem testified that the First Vice President directed the Nasir Commissioner and SPLA (IO) Brigadier General Koang to oversee the evacuation operation. He alleged that Dr. Riek Machar provided these guarantees in his capacity as the Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO).
๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ
The third witness in the case, an SSPDF Military Intelligence (M.I.) officer, Captain James Akot, one of the soldiers evacuated on March 6, testified before the court. He stated that clashes between the SSPDF and the opposition forces began in mid-February 2025.
He stressed that the late Major General David Majur Dak had issued orders to all defense forces to prepare following news of large-scale mobilization and deployment operations by the opposition in Nasir on February 28, 2025, indicating that the mobilization continued until March 1, 2025.
The witness added that the attack began on March 2, led by the late Tor Gile Thoan and his deputy, Kang Makana, at 11:00 p.m., and continued until dawn.
On the morning of March 3, Tor Gile returned to lead the attack and was killed during the battle. The witness stated that he personally saw Torโs body, which was wearing an SPLA (IO) uniform with the rank of colonel.
Furthermore, he pointed out that on the morning of March 4, the attack was repeated, this time led by Kang Makana, leading to the scattering of the SSPDF soldiers inside the garrison and forcing them to enter armored personnel carriers (APCs).
The witness said he received a call from the late Majur Dak, who informed him that he was with a number of soldiers inside an APC in the southern part of the garrison and ordered him not to abandon his position or trust any initiative from the White Army to provide food or water, describing it as an attempt to deceive and lure the SSPDF forces out of the armored vehicles.
Captain Akot explained that on the first day of the evacuation operation, he received a call from the army command informing him that planes were heading to Nasir to evacuate them to Malakal.
He also noted that the Commissioner of Nasir contacted him to confirm that local chiefs would assist them in boarding the planes safely. However, he alleged that when they left the APC, they were surprised by gunfire from the White Army.
He added that he placed a white cloth on top of the armored vehicle to help the evacuation team identify their location. However, he stated that they were attacked by the White Army and SPLA (IO) forces while boarding the plane.
The SSPDF captain confirmed that he was the last to board the plane after a violent confrontation with the White Army and opposition forces.
The witness testified that they were forced to leave General Majur behind, as he was approximately half a kilometer from their location and surrounded on all sides.
At the end of the session, the defense asked Captain James Akot a question about whether he had seen any of the accused in the dock in Nasir on that day. The witness replied that he had not seen any of them.
The sham court adjourned the session until Wednesday, December 17, when the court is expected to begin questioning the third witness.
Abiem.
The SPLM/A (IO) maintains its rejection of the so-called "Special Court," viewing it as a tool to undermine the Revitalized Agreement and pursue a political witch-hunt against Dr. Riek Machar and the SPLM/A (IO). The movement demands the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Riek Machar and all SPLM/A (IO) detainees.
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๐. ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐
