By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Leading opposition party in Sudan, SPLM-IO has condemned the accusation of murder, treason and crimes against humanity brought against the Vice President, Riek Machar, saying the charges are politically motivated.
The party accuses the government that has brought the charges of attempting to enforce “authoritarian control and one-tribe rule”.
Machar’s SPLM-IO party says the charges against him and 20 others, in which he was also accused of involvement in raids by the White Army militia in the northeast in March are unfounded.
“The charges are fabricated to abrogate the (peace agreement), sideline Dr. Machar and the SPLM-IO, and entrench total government control,” Machar’s SPLM-IO party said in a statement late on Thursday shortly after the justice ministry announced the charges.
Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said the charges against Machar is in connection with the attack in March by the White Army militia linked to the vice-president, in which 250 soldiers and a general were killed.
Machar’s detention under house arrest since March has ignited international fears of a renewal of a devastating 2013-2018 civil war between his ethnic Nuer forces and Dinka fighters loyal to his longtime rival President Salva Kiir.
The roads leading to his house in the capital, Juba, have been blocked by tanks and soldiers.
Kiir and Machar served in a unity government as part of a peace deal that ended that war, but their partnership remained strained and sporadic violence has continued between the two sides.
Seven others have been charged alongside Machar, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt Gen Gabriel Duop Lam, Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said in a statement.
They are all Machar allies who were arrested at the same time as him and have also been in detention ever since.
Machar and Chol have also been suspended from their roles in government, according to an announcement on state TV.
