Vice-President fails in court jurisdiction challenge

A special court in South Sudan has ruled that it does have the jurisdiction to prosecute suspended Vice-President Riek Machar and seven co-accused, who are charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity, reports BBC News. The court dismissed all objections by Machar's legal team regarding its authority, the constitutionality of the proceedings, and the claim that he was immune from prosecution. The case will continue today. Machar has dismissed the charges brought against him two weeks ago as a political ‘witch-hunt’. They have raised fears of return to civil war. The charges stem from an attack in March by a militia allegedly linked to Machar, which killed 250 soldiers and a general. Since then, he has been under house arrest. Machar's defence team had argued that the alleged crimes should not be tried by a national court but by a hybrid court under the African Union, in accordance with the 2018 Peace Agreement that ended the five-year civil war between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir. Presiding Judge James Alala, however, said that the special court did have the authority to try national offences, as a hybrid court had not yet been established. He also denied that Machar had immunity from prosecution, saying this was only enjoyed by the President. The court also expelled two of Machar's lawyers after the prosecution argued that they did not have valid licences.