Fears rife treason and murder charges against South Sudan’s VP Riek Machar recipe for renewed civil war
Fears are rife that treason and crimes against humanity charges leveled against Vice-President Riek Machar could spark new wave of civil turmoil in the world’s youngest nation that has remained volatile for decades now.
South Sudan’s opposition reportedly said the charges against Machar are politically motivated.
A fragile power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, First Vice-President Machar, has been unravelling for months.
Yesterday, Machar was charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an ethnic militia’s attack on a military base in March.
Information Minister Michael Makuei downplayed fears of renewed conflict and said Machar was being given a fair trial.
“The process is a political persecution, not a criminal prosecution,” Juol Nhomngek Daniel, a former lawmaker in Machar’s party, reportedly told AFP.
He said Machar’s supporters would soon “reach their limits” and turn to violence.
“The fighting will be disorganised, leading to widespread insecurity,” he said.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but was quickly plunged into a devastating five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar that left some 400,000 dead.
The war ended with a power-sharing agreement in 2018 but attempts by the international community to ensure a democratic transition have failed.
Elections that were due to take place in December 2024 were again postponed to 2026.
The United Nations warned earlier this year that South Sudan was “witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress”.
Edmund Yakani, a well-known civil society leader in Juba, told AFP 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 consequences will be “massive”, said Yakani.
“Those who are in the bush will now go and mobilise fully to trigger a full-scale war,” he added, pointing to recent calls by a Nuer spiritual leader to mobilise against the government.
