A South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) soldier testified in the special court Monday that his family paid a large ransom for his release after he was captured by opposition fighters after the deadly attack on the military garrison in Nasir in March 2025.
The testimony came during the high-profile trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and seven associates, who face charges including murder, treason and crimes against humanity.
The charges relate to a March 2025 attack in Nasir, Upper Nile State, that killed Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak, more than 250 soldiers and a member of a United Nations peacekeeping helicopter crew.
R/SM Ater Bol Piol, the fifth prosecution witness and a survivor of the attack, said he was captured on March 12, 2025, by fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) and allied White Army militia after fleeing the overrun army garrison in Nasir.
Piol told the special court during the 34th session at Juba’s Freedom Hall that his life was initially spared when a fighter he recognized, Brig. Gen. Nyuon, intervened. “He told them not to kill me because I treated his child,” Piol testified.
He was then taken to an SPLA-IO commander in Ulang County, Maj. Gen. Thiech. Piol testified that Thiech demanded a $20,000 ransom on March 16. “They told me to talk to my family so they could bring money for me to be released,” he said.
Piol said he protested that he earned only about 90,000 South Sudanese pounds monthly. “I told him if I had that money, I would use it to feed my children,” he testified. “There is nowhere I can get that kind of money.”
Piol said he contacted his brother, Deng, to relay the demand. “Deng told me that they don’t have this kind of huge money,” he said. Nevertheless, his family eventually raised 11.5 million South Sudanese pounds and transferred it to an account under the name Gatwech Rengdit. Piol clarified to the court, “I heard they paid. I did not see it.”
Evacuation Order
Piol’s testimony included new details about his subsequent evacuation. He said that after the payment, he was taken to an airstrip in Rubwot, where a plane had landed. He and eight other unarmed SSPDF soldiers boarded.
At the airstrip, Piol testified, a senior SSPDF general presented two letters. One, attributed to Machar, instructed their evacuation to the capital, Juba. Another, linked to President Salva Kiir, contained a warning that a relative of Piol’s should not be killed.
“The order must have come from Dr. Riek Machar,” Piol said when asked by prosecutors about the origin of the evacuation command. He told the court that upon arrival in Juba, he reported to military authorities, not civilian police investigators.
Contact with Machar
In earlier testimony, Piol claimed that during his captivity, he spoke by phone with Machar on March 15. He said Machar urged him to join SPLA-IO forces at the Nasir garrison and remove military equipment, offering a promotion to colonel. Piol said he refused.
“I told Machar that I will never return to Wech-Yar-Adiu due to mosquitoes and mud,” Piol told the court.
Machar’s defense lawyer, Annis Tombe Augustino, challenged the timeline of Piol’s account during cross-examination.
Broader Violence
The court heard that the violence in Nasir County involved government forces, SPLA-IO fighters and armed White Army youth. Prosecutors allege that command failures led to the soldiers’ deaths.
Piol testified that his release was not an isolated case. “Each of us was brought by people who knew him, after family paid,” he said, referring to the other soldiers on the flight.
The special court, led by a panel of three judges, adjourned until Jan. 5, 2026, when more witnesses are expected to testify. One of the eight accused remains absent on medical grounds.