Vice President Riek Machar has been suspended from South Sudan cabinet. Now to be charged with treason
Reports coming from Juba indicate that South Sudan is intending to charge the country’s first Vice-President Riek Machar with murder and treason.
Dr Riek Machar together with several other officials have also been suspended from the South Sudan Cabinet in a republican order by President Salva Kiir.
The South Sudanese Vice President, Riek Machar, has been under house arrest since March 2025 when the government in Juba accused the charismatic politician of subversive activities against President Salva Kiir.
According to observers though, the political driven persecution, to a great extent, was being fuelled by President Kiir and his supporters, being one of the tactics to manage his succession and squashing the threats from the opposition.
Of late, similar strategies have been applied in a number of Eastern African countries, where their leaders have been accused of using the police and other security organs in arresting and torturing members of the opposition.
The leaders have also been forcing the judiciary in their countries to convene Kangaroo courts against popular opposition figures to discourage democratic movements.
Seven other senior officials of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) are also set to face trial alongside detained First Vice President Riek Machar.
These include, Puot Kang Chol, Lieutenant General Gabriel Duop Lam, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwich Lam Puoch, Brigadier General Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Riek Yak and Dominic Gatgok Riek up
SPLM-IO also known as the anti-governmental forces (AGF), is the main South Sudanese political party and rebel group which previously split from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in 2013, due to political tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, regarding the over leadership of the original SPLM.