South Sudan’s Justice minister has acknowledged delays in the trial of opposition leader Riek Machar, but says proceedings are nearing completion. Michael Makuei Lueth briefed President Salva Kiir on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, indicating that although the case has taken longer time than anticipated, steady progress has been made and a conclusion is expected soon.
Machar, 73, has been on trial since September 22, 2025, before a special Court in Juba. He has been under house arrest since March 2025 and faces multiple charges, including treason, murder, terrorism and crimes against humanity. He is being tried alongside seven co-accused linked to his SPLM-IO party, including senior officials such as Puot Kang Chuol and Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, who remains in detention.
Prosecutors allege that opposition forces and allied militias killed 257 Government soldiers and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about 58 million dollars during an attack on a garrison in Nasir in March 2025.
The Court held its 68th session on Wednesday, with the defence concluding cross-examination of a digital forensic expert presented by the prosecution. Despite calls from an African Union ad hoc Committee in February for Machar’s release to support dialogue ahead of elections scheduled for December 2026, the trial has continued.
Machar remains a central figure in the 2018 Peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s civil war, although tensions between Kiir and him persist amid an increasingly fragile security environment.