S.Sudan ex-VP Machar in court on crimes against humanity charges

JUBA - South Sudan's opposition leader and former vice-president Riek Machar appeared in court on Monday after being charged with crimes against humanity and treason, state media showed.

A fragile power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has been unravelling for months, threatening to return the young nation to a civil war that left 400,000 dead in the 2010s.

Machar was this month charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity and stripped of his position as first vice-president in the unity government, having already spent months under house arrest.

He was accused of ordering an ethnic militia's attack on a military base in March that the government said killed more than 250 soldiers.

Machar's faction denies the charges and says they are part of Kiir's efforts to sideline the opposition and consolidate power.

"His Excellency Dr Riek Machar should not be tried by this incompetent court, which lacks jurisdiction," his lawyer told the court on Monday, as Machar appeared for the first hearing inthe case alongside several other defendants.

FAILED TRANSITION

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but was quickly plunged into a devastating conflict between Kiir and Machar between 2013 and 2018.

Attempts by the international community to keep the peace process alive and ensure a democratic transition have largely failed.

Elections due to take place in December 2024 were again postponed to 2026 and the two sides have not merged their armed forces.

The United Nations last week issued a report accusing the government of stealing billions of dollars in oil money since independence and providing almost nothing for essential services like health and education.

Machar's supporters say the charges against him show the power-sharing agreement is dead and have called for an armed mobilisation to bring about "regime change".

Edmund Yakani, a well-known civil society leader in Juba, told AFP earlier this month that charges against Machar were expected but their severity was "shocking".

Charging him with crimes against humanity was "politically motivated", he said, and "legally... not justifiable" since it does not exist in South Sudan's laws.

The charges relate to an attack in March on a military base in Upper Nile State, one of Machar's strongholds, by a loose band of fighters from his ethnic Nuer community known as the White Army.

Machar's faction denies he ordered the attack.

With Machar "being forced to appear before a kangaroo court and imposing charges against him, (it) is a clear indication that the SPLM-IG has chosen instability over peace," a spokesman told AFP last week.