South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar was charged on Thursday with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over alleged links to March attacks by the White Army militia against federal forces in the northeastern town of Nasir, the justice minister said.
Hours later, President Salva Kiir suspended Machar from office, state radio announced in a decree that offered no further details. The decree also suspended Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, who was charged alongside Machar.
The moves deepen the rift between Kiir and Machar, rival leaders whose forces fought a 2013-2018 civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people. The two later entered a fragile power-sharing government under a peace deal, but violence has persisted in parts of the country.
Machar has been under house arrest since March as authorities investigated the Nasir violence. International partners have repeatedly called for his release, warning that his detention risks destabilising the country.
“Evidence further reveals that the White Army operated under the command and influence of certain leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in Opposition (SPLM/A-iO), including Dr. Riek Machar Teny,” Justice Minister Joseph Geng told reporters, adding the case is now sub judice.
Geng said 20 others have been indicted; 13 remain at large. Edmund Yakani, head of the civil society group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, urged due process, saying he hoped the defendants would face “a competent court of law, not a kangaroo court of law.”