Special Court Presiding Judge James Alala|Courtesy

The official trial of suspended First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, and his co-accused is set to commence on Wednesday, after the Special Court rejected multiple legal objections raised by the defense team, including a challenge to its jurisdiction and the constitutionality of the proceedings.

In a landmark ruling delivered Monday, Presiding Judge James Alala overruled all five objections brought forward by the defense, paving the way for the case—Criminal Case No. 1533 of 2025—to proceed.

The defense had argued that the Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) of 2018, which calls for the establishment of a Hybrid Court under the African Union, supersedes all national legal frameworks in cases involving serious human rights violations.

They maintained that the alleged crimes, committed during a March 2025 incident in Nasir, fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of such a hybrid mechanism, not a national court.

However, the court dismissed this assertion, stating that the Hybrid Court for South Sudan has not yet been established, and therefore, national courts remain fully competent to adjudicate criminal offenses committed within the territory.

“The special court enjoys jurisdiction to try this case according to the Transitional Constitution 2011 as amended,” said Judge Alala.

The court also rejected the claim that Machar enjoys constitutional immunity, noting that the relevant constitutional provisions cited by the defense pertain solely to the President, not the First Vice President. Judge Alala emphasized that there is no explicit constitutional immunity for vice presidents under the law.

“The First Vice President does not have constitutional immunity, according to the Transitional Constitution,” the judge declared.

Furthermore, the court upheld the legitimacy of the Special Court, noting that it was properly constituted by the President of the Supreme Court under relevant provisions of the Judiciary Act and the Court of Criminal Procedure Act.

In a final procedural decision, two defense lawyers were disqualified from continuing in the case for failing to renew their legal licenses, while objections to the use of private advocates in the prosecution team were dismissed as “without merit.”

The case will now proceed to full trial, with the opening statement from the prosecution already delivered, detailing harrowing allegations of mass killings, executions, and orchestrated violence in Nasir County.