South Sudan's First Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity, the country's justice minister said, in a development that risks reigniting long-dormant conflict in the world’s youngest nation.
Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said the charges relate to an attack in March by a militia allegedly linked to Machar. Machar has been under house arrest since March and the roads leading to his compound in the capital, Juba, have been blocked by tanks and soldiers.
Government officials said the move followed an investigation into the March attack and that formal charges were being brought to hold those responsible to account. Authorities did not provide a detailed public timeline for legal proceedings, and it was not immediately clear whether Machar would be transferred from house arrest to formal detention.
Forces loyal to Machar previously fought a five-year civil war against those backing President Salva Kiir that ended in a 2018 peace deal. That conflict killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. Although the peace agreement established a power-sharing arrangement that returned Machar to the vice-presidency, relations between the two leaders have remained fragile, and sporadic outbreaks of violence and ethnic tension have continued.
International actors, including the United Nations, the African Union and neighbouring countries, have urged restraint and called for calm since Machar’s house arrest began. Diplomats said they were closely monitoring the situation and encouraging all parties to avoid actions that could escalate tensions.
Analysts and regional officials have warned that criminal charges against a senior figure in the fragile coalition government could inflame longstanding grievances and unsettle communities still recovering from the civil war. The east-central regions of South Sudan remain volatile, with militia activity and localized clashes persisting despite the national-level peace agreement.
Machar's political base is largely drawn from the Nuer ethnic group, while Kiir is primarily supported by the Dinka; political disputes have frequently taken on an ethnic dimension, complicating efforts to resolve disputes through legal and political channels. Since the 2018 deal, successive rounds of negotiations and cantonment of forces have sought to integrate armed groups into a unified national military, but implementation has been slow and uneven.
The government has framed the arrests and charges as part of efforts to uphold the rule of law and deter politically motivated violence. Human rights and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly highlighted the need for transparent due process and for steps that prevent collective punishment of communities.
As the case proceeds, international mediators and regional leaders are expected to press for legal proceedings that do not further destabilise the power-sharing arrangement. Any escalation of armed confrontation between rival factions would risk reversing years of progress toward peace and could deepen a humanitarian crisis in a country already facing displacement, food insecurity and development challenges.