Legal teams deliberate on forensic authenticity in 60th Machar trial session

2026-03-16 - 14:07

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – Legal teams in the special court trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar deliberated on the authenticity of digital forensic evidence during its 60th session on Monday, scrutinizing technical data to ensure a transparent judicial process. Defense lawyers representing Machar and seven co-defendants questioned the accuracy of digital hash values presented by a prosecution expert, arguing that the material submitted to the court lacked authenticity. The dispute arose after the defense asked the court to allow a digital forensic expert to present hash values linked to electronic evidence previously submitted in the trial. Hash values function as unique digital fingerprints for electronic files and are widely used in forensic investigations to confirm whether digital evidence has been altered. Algorithms such as MD5 and SHA-256 generate identifiers that help verify the integrity and authenticity of files. During the 60th session of the trial, held at Freedom Hall in Juba, South African digital forensic expert Ratlhogo Peter Calvin Rafadi presented these hash values to the court. Machar’s lead defense lawyer, Geri Raimondo Legge, challenged the evidence, arguing that the witness presented “mere paper” rather than the original hash data extracted directly from the devices. “If you click WhatsApp, it will open and you will see the content, even Messenger. These raw materials are always maintained on the original device, whether on a phone, WhatsApp, or a laptop,” Legge told the court. He added that the document presented by the prosecution lacked key verification elements. “What has been presented by the witness is just a mere paper, even without any signature, name, date, or stamp,” he said. Legge asked the court to allow the expert to open mobile phones belonging to six of the accused so that WhatsApp conversations could be reviewed directly from the devices. “That is why we asked the court to open the phones of every accused person to confirm the content of the device,” he said. “Therefore, we reject this piece of paper because it lacks value.” Lead prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohisa accused the defense of raising “preliminary issues” aimed at confusing the court and delaying the trial. “The defense is tactically avoiding questioning the witness on his report, which is already before the court and which they should be addressing,” Ony’Ohisa said. “We ask the court to intervene in this behavior.” Ony’Ohisa stated that the defense’s explanation of hash values was misleading. He added that prosecutors had no objection to the defense presenting its own expert to examine the phones and verify whether the hash values match those presented by the prosecution. Furthermore, Ony’Ohisa told the court that the issue of accessing the accused persons’ phones had already been ruled on previously, and that raising it again undermined the court’s earlier decision. Presiding judge James Alala Deng adjourned the proceedings until Wednesday to allow the cross-examination of Rafadi to continue. Machar, 73, and seven co-defendants face a range of charges, including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors allege that forces linked to the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), allied with the White Army militia, killed 257 soldiers from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) during an attack on the Nasir garrison in March 2025. Among the deceased was commander David Majur Dak. Authorities state that military equipment worth approximately $58 million was destroyed or seized during the assault.