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.
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 on Wednesday.
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.
The court, however, argued that it had the authority to try national offences, as a hybrid court had not yet been established.
The special court enjoys jurisdiction to try this case according to the Transitional Constitution 2011 as amended, Presiding Judge James Alala ruled.
It also dismissed the argument by Machar's team that he had immunity from prosecution, adding that the provision only applied to the president.
Machar's lead lawyer Geri Raimondo Legge Lubati told the court that his client and the co-accused had been subjected to politicized media campaign by ministers and other senior officials.
The charges have sparked fears of renewed conflict in the country, with the UN, African Union and neighbouring countries all calling for calm in the world's newest country, which only gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following decades of war.
