South Sudan’s vice president, Riek Machar, was charged Thursday with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity. Justice Minister Geng Akech accused him of directing ethnic militias in deadly assaults on federal forces that left more than 250 soldiers dead.
This case traces back to a March 2025 assault in Nasir, Upper Nile state, where the White Army militia, made of ehtnic Nuer, overran a government garrison, leading to 250 fatalities. Officials linked this event directly to Machar’s political and military network, the SPLA-IO. Justice Minister Akech has accused the SPLA-IO leadership of steering the militia’s actions behind the scenes, portraying the raid as the product of calculated coordination rather than a spontaneous outburst of violence. Machar has been under house arrest since March 2025 and his subsequent suspension from vice presidency have raised alarm among opposition groups and international observers, many of whom argue that the charges reflect a greater political agenda by President Salva Kiir’s government to neutralize its chief rival.
The charge from the justice minister implicates Machar as committing gross violations of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions for his alleged participation in the desecration of corpses and attacks on humanitarian workers.
Beyond the courtroom, the charges could undermine South Sudan’s current regime. By prosecuting Machar, the government risks reopening old ethnic wounds between Nuer and Dinka constituencies, destabilizing a fragile power-sharing pact, and imperiling the 2018 peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s last brutal civil war. Since the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed in 2018, implementation of its core provisions have repeatedly stalled, with elections originally due to be held in December 2024 being pushed back to December 2026 to allow time for constitutional reforms, creation of electoral infrastructure, and the formation of transitional justice mechanisms.
Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has warned that Machar’s house arrest in March and escalating hostilities, especially around Nasir represent serious violations of the R-ARCSS, urging all parties to refrain from unilateral actions that erode trust and jeopardize the position of the transitional government. Additionally, prosecuting a sitting vice president sets a historic precedent, though critics warn that it could be perceived as a politicization of the judiciary.
The long-term implications of prosecuting vice president Riek Machar remain to be seen, with the possibility of ongoing instability intensifying and leading to the stalling of critical development projects and prolonging the country’s reliance on humanitarian aid.
