Major-General Stephen Buay speaks to soldiers in an unidentified location in South Sudan | File photo

A Military Court has ‘secretly’ sentenced Army General Stephen Buay to one year in prison, his defense lawyer has told Eye Radio.

Advocate Philip Anyang says Maj.-Gen. Buay has also been demoted and dismissed from the SSPDF.

Maj.-Gen. Buay had been charged with treason, rebellion, and offenses during operations, disobedience of lawful orders and violation of standing orders according to articles 61, 67 and 69 of the SPLA Act, 2009.

He was captured by Special Forces in May 2018.

In April 2019, President Salva Kiir constituted a six-member military tribunal to try General Buay.

The tribunal completed its work in June and submitted it to the President.

It’s not clear why the judicial panel sought the clearance of the President before delivering the judgment.

In August, Buay’s Defense lawyer, appealed to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces to finalize the case, citing Buay’s deteriorating health condition.

But until now the verdict has not officially been made public.

However, last month, Stephen Buay published a short video online announcing that he has been informed of the decision by the military court.

He mentioned his demotion, and being disgracefully discharged from the military services.

Speaking to Eye Radio this afternoon, Anyang, however, insists that he was not officially informed about the decision of the court and that of the President.

“We cannot confirm the validity of this verdict, because it was never confirmed by the commander in chief as the law provides for,” he said in protest.

“They did a reverse, they did a wrongful step of announcing the verdict and taking it back to the commander in chief to confirm, which is outside what the law says.”

Anyang also questioned the sentence, saying one year has actually elapsed, considering the time he was held.

“One year ended on 31 May this year. Why is he being kept in jail still?”

Maj.-Gen. Buay has often argued that his arrest and detention was politically motivated.

He told the court earlier that the charges were manufactured by military and community leaders who allegedly have personal problems with him dating back to the 1990s.