South Sudan plunged deeper into political crisis on Thursday after Justice Minister Joseph Geng announced that First Vice President Riek Machar had been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity.
The charges stem from attacks in March by the White Army militia in the northeastern town of Nasir, which left dozens dead and displaced thousands. Authorities allege the group operated under Machar’s influence and other figures within his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in Opposition (SPLM/A-iO).
Just hours after the announcement, President Salva Kiir issued a decree suspending Machar from office, escalating tensions within the fragile coalition government. Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol was also suspended after being charged alongside Machar.
The indictments mark the most serious confrontation yet between Kiir and Machar since they entered a unity government under a 2018 peace deal that ended five years of civil war. That conflict claimed an estimated 400,000 lives and left the young nation in ruins. Sporadic clashes have persisted despite the peace accord, and analysts warn the latest crisis risks unravelling the fragile truce.
Machar, under house arrest since March, is among 21 people indicted. Thirteen remain at large. Civil society groups have urged the judiciary to conduct a transparent process. “We hope it will be a competent court of law, not a kangaroo court,” said Edmund Yakani of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization.
The international community has repeatedly pressed Juba to release Machar, warning that his detention and the deepening rift could reignite conflict. But the government insists it has compelling evidence tying him to the militia attacks.
For now, the charges set South Sudan’s two most powerful figures on a direct collision course, reviving fears of renewed instability in the world’s youngest state.
