Suspended Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol stated on Monday that his ongoing trial is driven by political and tribal motives.

He accused prosecutors of exploiting the judicial process to advance goals that go beyond legal accountability.

During the 82nd session of the special court held at Juba’s Freedom Hall, Kang — the first accused — told the court that the charges against him form part of a wider political campaign.

He claimed this effort is being channeled through the judiciary to mask underlying political intentions connected to the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Kang described the proceedings as a political and tribal campaign conducted via the courts in order to give the appearance of a legitimate judicial process.

He further alleged that members of President Salva Kiir’s faction within the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity had tried to pressure him into publicly disowning his party, the SPLM-IO, and its leader, First Vice President Riek Machar.

In return, he was offered his release — a proposal he said he firmly rejected.

The minister informed the court that the eight accused persons, including himself, are not being tried for any actual criminal acts. Instead, he said, they are being prosecuted for refusing to comply with political demands intended to weaken the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

He noted that the agreement includes reform provisions viewed as a threat by those currently in power.

Kang maintained that the case amounts to political persecution.

He also claimed that state security institutions in Juba are being deployed to target individuals from the opposition.

He categorically denied any involvement in the March 2025 attack on a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) base in Nasir, Upper Nile State, stating he had no links to the youth who carried out the assault.

Kang added that the late White Army leader, Tor Gille Thoan, had already clarified the reasons for the conflict between the group and the SSPDF in Nasir through his earlier statements.

Referring to Stephen Par Kuol, the Minister of Peacebuilding and a member of the SPLM-IO political bureau, Kang noted that Par was detained at the National Security Service’s Blue House facility on the same day as other SPLM-IO officials.

He was released the following morning.

Kang suggested that Par’s release came after he changed his position during a meeting at the detention centre, and questioned whether this reflected differential treatment based on political alignment.

He told the court that opposition figures are essentially left with two options: yield to political demands and gain their freedom, or face arrest and prosecution.

Kang said he and his co-accused had chosen to go through the legal process instead of bowing to political pressure.

Kang is one of eight defendants charged with treason, crimes against humanity, murder, terrorism, and destruction of property in connection with the March 2025 attack on the SSPDF base in Nasir.

The other accused are suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lieutenant General Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek, and Dominic Gatgok Riek.

While Machar remains under house arrest, the rest of the accused are being detained by the National Security Service.

Prosecutors claim that Sudan People’s Liberation Army-IO forces, working with the White Army militia, killed 257 SSPDF soldiers — including commander David Majur Dak — and destroyed or seized military equipment valued at approximately $58 million in the attack.