Dr Riek Machar's defence lawyers - courtesy

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) — The legal teams for suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar have clashed over jurisdiction, with the defense arguing that the 2025 Nasir County violence should be tried by a Hybrid Court, a claim the prosecution rejects based on South Sudan’s sovereignty.

The defense, led by attorney Geri Raimondu, argued that a hybrid court—not the Special Court—is the correct venue for such a case.

Raimondu stated that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the High Court under both national and international law.

He emphasized that the Revitalized Peace Agreement has primacy over national laws and that a hybrid court should take precedence in investigating and prosecuting serious crimes committed during the transitional period.

“The High Court has been designed and agreed to have its own bill, investigations, and prosecution mechanism,” Dr Geri said.

“Just as the Revitalized Agreement has primacy over all laws of South Sudan, our constitution, the hybrid court is also intended to have primacy over all the national courts.”

In response, Filberto Mayuot Mareng of the prosecution rejected the defense’s claim, emphasizing South Sudan’s sovereignty.

He argued that the country has the responsibility to provide security and ensure justice, and that waiting for a hybrid court to be established by the African Union would leave incidents like the Nasir violence unaddressed.

Mareng added that the violence was carried out by the “so-called White Army,” not the SPLA, and should therefore be prosecuted under South Sudan’s own legal mechanisms.

He insisted that South Sudan is a sovereign country and has the responsibility to investigate and prosecute such incidents under its own legal system.

The ongoing debate over the court’s jurisdiction stems from the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which stipulates that a Hybrid Court for South Sudan is to be established to try individuals responsible for serious crimes committed since the conflict began in December 2013.

This court, a joint venture between South Sudan and the African Union, would have primacy over all national courts for cases involving war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.