JUBA – A defendant in the ongoing trial involving suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny and seven accused asked the special court on Wednesday to order the return of cash and personal property allegedly confiscated during his arrest.
Mam Pal Dhour, the second accused, told the court last week that security personnel seized money, mobile phones, and other valuables at the time of arrest at Juba Airport on March 5, 2025, while he was boarding a flight to Uganda.
Mam said the items include a passport, an HP laptop, three watches—among them a gold watch—US$1,158, SSP 23,000, a gold necklace, two rings, and a bag.
Testifying through a court interpreter during the 86th session on Wednesday, Mam said the continued holding of the property amounts to an unlawful deprivation of personal assets.
The 38-year-old businessman urged the court to direct the authorities of the security agent to either return the items or provide a clear legal basis for their confiscation.
“I pray to the court that my items taken by the National Security Service should be returned to me because I was unlawfully detained without justification and my family incurred loss during my one-year unlawful detainment,” Mam said.
Mam said his valuable items were not formally presented as exhibits in the case file.
He denied all allegations against him, describing them as false and unfounded.
“All the allegations levelled against me are not true. They are false, and no one came from Nasir to testify that I took part in the Nasir incident,” he said.
The court adjourned to Monday, June 12, 2026, for judges to question Mam Pal after concluding his statement.
Machar, a key opposition figure and former rebel leader, is among eight accused in the case, which has drawn significant political and public attention.
The accused include Riek Machar Teny, 73; Puot Kang Chuol, 40; Mam Pal Dhuor, 37; Gatwech Lam Puoch, 66; Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, 53; Camilo Gatmai Kel, 47; Mading Yak Riek, 45; and Dominic Gatgok Riek, 27.
Prosecutors allege that forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), allied with the White Army militia, killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defence Forces soldiers, including commander David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million in an attack on a garrison in Nasir in March 2025.
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