A lead investigator on Friday delivered explosive testimony linking South Sudan’s suspended Petroleum Minister, Puot Kang Chuol, to a militia attack that left hundreds of soldiers dead in Nasir earlier this year.
In a tense session of the special high court, Maj. Gen. Basilio Thomas Wani, the Police Commissioner of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, told the judges that Puot Kang personally financed the White Army militia with $30,000, money allegedly used to mobilize fighters and purchase weapons for the March 2025 assault on the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) base in Upper Nile State.
“The money was sent twice,” Wani said under cross-examination. “The first was for ritual purposes, but the second payment about $30,000 was distributed across 15 payams, each receiving around $2,000.”
The investigator recounted how one local chief refused to accept the cash, fearing the consequences of joining the assault.
That chief, Wani said, was later stripped of his chieftaincy ribbon on orders from James Gatluak Lew, then the commissioner of Nasir County and a member of Machar’s SPLM-IO movement.
According to Wani, Puot Kang maintained direct communication with the attackers throughout the assault. “He was getting real-time updates—lists of the dead, battle timings, even wounded reports through WhatsApp,” he told the court.
The allegations paint a chilling picture of coordination between political figures and armed groups.
Wani further claimed that Puot Kang used UN-owned Radio Miraya to broadcast misinformation about SSPDF troop movements to mislead government forces, and sent money to Brig. Gen. Hokdor Chuol to procure arms and ammunition.
Citing a military administrative report, Wani said the Nasir attack resulted in the deaths of 267 SSPDF soldiers, including senior commander Gen. James Majur Dak.
The prosecution described the assault as a two-day offensive led by White Army commander Col. Tor Gile Thoan on March 3, and joined the following day by SPLM-IO soldiers under combined command. They have asked the court to extend indictments to 10 additional individuals still at large, all believed to be allied with the SPLM-IO.
In total, eight high-profile figures including suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar are facing charges of treason, terrorism, mass murder, and crimes against humanity.
Machar’s lead lawyer, Dr. Geri Raimondo Legge, rejected the investigator’s account, arguing that the evidence violated both Article 22 of the Transitional Constitution and the 2008 Criminal Procedure Act.
After nearly four hours of heated exchanges, Presiding Judge James Alala Deng adjourned the session to Monday, October 20, when the prosecution is expected to continue presenting evidence against the remaining defendants.
