A South African digital forensic expert told the special court Wednesday that his company was the only firm contracted by the South Sudanese government to analyze electronic evidence in the trial of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and seven co-defendants.
Ratlhogo Peter Calvin Rafadi, a Johannesburg-based investigator and owner of cybersecurity firm Bizz-Tracers, said his company was exclusively engaged by investigators through South Sudan’s embassy in Pretoria.
Testifying during cross-examination at a hearing in Juba, Rafadi said no other private firms or independent experts were invited to bid for the work.
“There were no other procurement bidders that I saw during my engagement at the Embassy of South Sudan in Pretoria,” he said. “I do not know what internal procurement and adjudication processes were followed in appointing a service provider for this case.”
Under questioning by Machar’s lead defense lawyer, Dr. Geri Raimondo Lgge, Rafadi said he was contracted through his company, not as an individual, and submitted his documents for consideration in June 2025.
He also told the court that messages extracted from a mobile phone belonging to co-accused Mam Pal Dhuor showed communication with a contact identified as “John P. K,” whom he said corresponded to Puot Kang Chol.
“I confirm that the extracted message is between Mr. Mam Pal and John P. K,” Rafadi said. “John P. K is Mr. Puot Kang Chol, based on data extracted from the phonebook VCS file.”
Asked whether he had independent confirmation from a telecommunications authority linking the number to Puot Kang Chol, Rafadi said the identification was based on the phonebook data retrieved from the device.
“The VCS file phonebook extracted from Mr. Mam Pal’s handset clearly shows the number saved under the name of Puot Kang Chol,” he said.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng adjourned the trial until March 25 to allow for the continuation of Rafadi’s cross-examination.
Machar, 73, and his co-defendants face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity. Machar is under house arrest, while the others are detained at National Security Service facilities in Juba.
The co-defendants are Puot Kang Chol, 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 SPLA-IO forces allied with the White Army killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defense Forces soldiers, including commander Gen. David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million during an attack on the Nasir garrison in March 2025.