11/03/2026
๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐: ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐.๐. ๐๐ซ. ๐๐ข๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐/๐ (๐๐) ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ฌ
Juba, March 11, 2026 โ The SPLM-IG-established sham court, known as the Special Court on the Incident of Nasir, which is targeting leaders and members of the SPLM/A (IO), notably First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, held its 59th session this morning at its usual venueโFreedom Hall.
During todayโs session, the defense continued crossโexamining the prosecutionโs final witness, Peter Rafadi Calvinโa South African digitalโforensic expertโabout the digitalโforensic report he prepared for the SPLM (IG) and submitted to the sham court. The sham court panel has also issued its ruling on the defenseโs request to open a phone for practical crossโexamination.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ
The panel of judges presiding over the sham trial rejected the defenseโs request to bring the phone of the first accused, Hon. Pout Kang Chol, to court for charging and practical examination.
The request was made during the last session (the 58th) when the defense argued that opening Hon. Pout Kangโs phone was necessary to confirm the authenticity of messages, photos, audio recordings, and videos allegedly extracted from the device and presented as evidence.
In his ruling, Judge Stephen Simon declined the request but directed the so-called forensic expert, Peter Rafadi Calvin, to present the hash values of the extracted data on Monday, March 16. Hash values are digital signatures used to verify that electronic evidence has not been altered.
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌโ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The defence asked the soโcalled digitalโforensic expert about the date he arrived in South Sudan and the date he submitted his forensic report.
Calvin claimed that he completed the combination of his report with the individual attachments on 14 August. He further stated that he came to Juba on Friday, 22 August, and that on Monday, 25 August, he met with the investigative committee and handed over the report together with all the attachments. Calvin added that on 26 August he met again with the committee, during which Gen. Basilio Thomas Wani took his statement.
On that same day, the committee allegedly advised him to return to South Africa to retain a lawyer or law firm authorized to perform the notarial work required by the High Court in Pretoria, in conjunction with the apostille of the Republic of South Sudan.
He continued: โI then started the whole process on 1 September at the High Court of Pretoria and proceeded to the Department of International Relations, which allegedly followed all procedures from the Special Desk of the Republic of South Sudan and completed the authentication. On the very same day I went to the South Sudan Embassy, where the authentication was also carried out and endorsed.โ
Calvin further claimed that the notary advised him that the main report, together with his CV and credentials, needed to be notarised and apostilled, but not the individual extracted pieces of evidence that the report references as attachments. He alleged that, after all the procedures, he travelled back to South Sudan and handed the notarised report to Gen. Thomas Wani, noting that โsuch proof is demonstrated on my travel documents.โ
The expert testified that the actual report he submitted was signed and stamped, but the individual attachments had only a stamp on the front page; they were neither signed nor stamped and did not constitute evident attachments supporting the main report.
The defence then questioned the prosecution witness about whether he prepared his report in South Africa or South Sudan. He responded that he had prepared all his reports in South Africa.
Calvin was asked about a message he cited in his reportโallegedly sent by Gen. HokDor Chol to the first accused (page 20, paragraph 441 of the main report) concerning the price of PKM ammunitionโwhere no response was recorded. He asserted that the keyword โammunitionโ led him to extract any message pertaining to ammunition, and that whether a reply exists or not, the message remains in the record.
The defence posed a followโup question: was the message he referred to written in the Nuer language, as reflected in the first accusedโs individual report (pages 10, paragraphs 226โ232)? Was the expertโs understanding of that message based on his own interpretation rather than a certified translation? Calvin explained that he sometimes identified messages by keywords even when the text was in another language and then shared them with the lead investigator, Gen. Basilio, via his WhatsApp account, saying, โI will spell out some words and he will try to interpret them as the direct investigator.โ
The defence also asked Rafadi whether metadata is crucial in determining when and where a digital file was created, and whether metadata can reveal if a file was added later to a device. He agreed that metadata is indeed crucial for establishing the creation time and location of a digital file and noted that it can also indicate whether a file was added to a device at a later date.
Finally, Calvin was asked whether presenting a video or audio file from a flash drive proves that it originated from the first accusedโs phone. He answered affirmatively, stating that presenting a video or audio from a flash drive does not prove it came from the first accusedโs phone. He added that he had personally supplied a flash drive containing the audios and videos that were demonstrated before this Honourable Court, and that these files were the same ones extracted from the phone.
Presiding judge of the sham court, Dr. James Alala Deng, adjourned the trial until Monday, March 16, 2025 to allow the expert time to prepare the required data.
The SPLM/A (IO) continues to vigorously reject the so-called "Special Court", considering it a tool to abrogate the Revitalized Agreement and target H.E. Dr. Riek Machar and the SPLM/A (IO) through a perceived political witch-hunt. The movement reiterated its demands for the immediate and unconditional release of H.E. Dr. Riek Machar and all SPLM/A (IO) detainees.
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