South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar Charged with Treason Amid Rising Tensions

South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar faces treason and other charges linked to a March militia attack, heightening fears of renewed conflict. He has been under house arrest since March, and his long-standing rivalry with President Salva Kiir has previously fueled civil war.

South Sudan’s First Vice President, Riek Machar, is facing charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities announced on Thursday, amid rising concerns that the East African nation could be edging toward another civil conflict.

Machar has been under house arrest since March, following accusations by the transitional government, of which he is a member, of engaging in subversive activities against President Salva Kiir. Pro-government forces have been clashing with militias and other armed groups reportedly loyal to Machar. Under the terms of a fragile 2018 peace agreement, Machar serves as the country’s second-in-command, but the pact has yet to be fully implemented.

In addition to treason, Machar and seven other individuals are charged with murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and military assets, and crimes against humanity. These charges are linked to a violent incident in March, when a militia called the White Army attacked and overran a government garrison in Nasir, Upper Nile state, killing its commanding officer and several other personnel. According to a statement from the justice ministry, the attack was orchestrated by Machar and others through “coordinated military and political structures.”

The filing of criminal charges against Machar is widely expected to heighten instability in South Sudan, whose government is under regional pressure to negotiate a political settlement that prevents the resurgence of large-scale conflict. It remains unclear when Machar will appear in court. His exact location in South Sudan is currently unknown, although his supporters have consistently called for his release.

The justice ministry’s statement confirmed that Machar and his co-accused “have been informed of the charges against them and their constitutional rights.” However, Puok Both Baluang, a spokesperson for Machar, criticized the charges as “a political witch hunt” and asserted that the country’s justice system lacks independence and is subject to political influence.

Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader, emphasized that the suspects should be tried in a competent court rather than what he described as “a kangaroo court of law,” and expressed hope that ordinary citizens would be allowed to observe the proceedings.

Both Kiir and Machar are long-standing figures in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the rebel movement that led South Sudan to independence from Sudan in 2011. Yet the two leaders hail from rival ethnic groups: Kiir is Dinka, the largest ethnic group in the country, while Machar is Nuer, the second-largest. Their military rivalry dates back to the 1990s, when Machar led a breakaway SPLM faction accused of betraying the movement. During this period, forces loyal to Machar carried out a massacre in Bor targeting the Dinka, an action that deeply angered both rebel commander Kiir and John Garang, the movement’s late political leader.

The internecine fighting among southern factions briefly undermined their struggle for independence, while sowing deep-seated mistrust between Kiir and Machar. Analysts note that despite their formal cooperation, the two leaders remain at odds, with tensions intensifying over the years as Machar awaits an opportunity to ascend to the presidency while Kiir continues to retain power.

In 2013, Kiir dismissed Machar from the vice presidency, citing a coup plot. Later that year, violent clashes erupted in Juba, the capital, between government forces loyal to Kiir and troops devoted to Machar, marking the beginning of a civil war that claimed an estimated 400,000 lives.