14/09/2025
The Illegal Charges Dead on Its Arrival
The recent indictment of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny and senior SPLM-IO officials is legally defective and cannot stand. The charges, based on misquoted provisions of the Penal Code Act, 2008, are fundamentally flawed:
Section 186 (fouling water of a public well) was wrongly cited as crimes against humanity.
Section 334 (housebreaking by night) was wrongly invoked for destruction of public and military property.
Such errors violate the principle of legality enshrined in Article 19(4) of the Transitional Constitution, 2011 (as amended), which prohibits charging any person under provisions not clearly defined by law.
Moreover, the Ministry’s own report admits that 76 out of 83 suspects were released for lack of sufficient evidence, leaving only a handful of senior political figures selectively prosecuted. This selective and politically motivated indictment lacks evidentiary foundation and breaches Article 19(5), which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
For these reasons, the indictment against Dr. Machar is not merely weak it is dead on its arrival. Any attempt to proceed with such defective charges would be unconstitutional, unjust, and a violation of South Sudan’s obligations under the R-ARCSS (2018 Peace Agreement)
Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth Hothnyang,
Chairman, FDP.
