By Matik Kueth
A prosecution witness has shifted the spotlight of the Nasir massacre trial onto the inner workings of SPLA-IO command structures, arguing that Dr. Riek Machar bears responsibility for the 2025 killings not through direct orders, but through what he called “an organized chain of authorization” within the armed opposition movement.
Testifying on Wednesday, Maj. Peter Malual Deng, an SSPDF investigator and the state’s first witness, told judges that the Nasir attacks reflected “coordinated military intent,” allegedly enabled by SPLA-IO’s leadership hierarchy.
His remarks came after days of tense court exchanges, during which Machar’s lawyers pressed him to present any explicit proof tying their client to the deaths of more than 200 SSPDF soldiers, including Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak.
Under cross-examination last month, Deng conceded that investigators found no recording, message, or directive showing Machar personally ordered any assault.
However, during re-examination this Wednesday, prosecutor Martha Jobet Jermaiha asked Deng to clarify the operational links he said tied Machar to the violence.
Deng responded by describing a committee Machar allegedly established on March 1, 2025, two days before the Nasir barracks was overrun.
According to Deng, this body was tasked with “receiving, tracking, and securing SSPDF movements” in the area.
He claimed the committee included influential White Army figures such as Col. Tor Gile Thon and his deputy Kang Makana, whom authorities accuse of spearheading the twin attacks that followed.
Deng noted that investigators reviewed footage where Kang Makana and Nasir Commissioner James Gatluak Lew identified themselves as SPLA-IO loyalists aligned with Machar.
In another clip, Thon is seen briefing White Army youth about “logistics received” and a pending assault on the Wech-Yar-Adiu garrison.
For the prosecution, Deng argued, these combined elements demonstrate “command responsibility”, a legal doctrine that holds military leaders accountable for crimes committed by forces under their authority, even without direct participation.
The bench is expected to interrogate his conclusions when hearings resume on Friday, December 12th, 2025.
Machar and seven others are standing trial on charges ranging from murder and terrorism to crimes against humanity, all tied to the deadly March 2025 clashes that left a senior general and more than 250 soldiers dead.
The government maintains that SPLA-IO elements and the White Army jointly carried out the massacre, while the defense argues the prosecution has failed to establish any direct link to Machar.