Reporters wait for a press conference at the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services, on Friday, July 5, 2024 📸(Lou Nelson/Eye Radio)

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) — A civil society activist has called on the Ministry of Justice to grant private and non-state media full access to the ongoing trial of First Vice President Dr Riek Machar and several senior SPLM-IO officials.

The appeal comes after reports that independent media outlets were denied entry to the court proceedings at Freedom Hall.

Edmond Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), made the call while speaking to Eye Radio on Monday, September 22, stating that all public institutions had previously announced the trial would be open to the media and public.

“It is a transparent trial,” Yakani said. “It’s a trial that citizens can access and media can access responsibly to observe and cover, and so the credibility and independence of the court to the public in terms of a watchdog that ensures the process is observed due to the legal process.”

Yakani noted that only the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) has been granted access.

Other national and independent media houses were told to seek prior approval from the Ministry of Information.

“We see this as a beginning of impediment in making the transparency of the trial,” he warned.

“This is trying to send a signal that the independence and the credibility of the judiciary are appealing to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to engage with other state agencies to allow that access of private media or non-state media and other observers from civil society, from other actors, is allowed to access the court because that provides transparency.”

The trial of Dr Machar and other opposition leaders, including Minister of Petroleum Puot Kang Chol, began today.

Dr Machar was suspended from his duties last week after the Ministry of Justice filed multiple charges against him.

The defendants face charges including murder, high treason, and crimes against humanity, stemming from violent clashes in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, in March.