Vice-President's treason trial begins

The treason trial of South Sudan’s suspended first Vice-President, Riek Machar, opened on Monday under tight security in the capital, Juba, with his lawyer arguing the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, reports BusinessLIVE. Machar’s detention under house arrest since March has ignited fears of a renewal of a devastating 2013-18 civil war between his ethnic Nuer forces and Dinka fighters loyal to his longtime rival President Salva Kiir. Machar’s SPLM-IO party rejects the charges against him and 20 others which include murder, treason and crimes against humanity for their alleged involvement in raids by the Nuer-dominated White Army militia in the northeast this year. At the special court, Machar appeared behind a row of black bars, the first time he has been seen in public since his house arrest. Kiir suspended him by decree this month as the charges were revealed. Media access to the court was restricted to the state broadcaster.