The second accused in the high-profile Nasir attack trial involving suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar on Wednesday asked a special court to order the return of cash, vehicles, and other personal items confiscated by security officers during his arrest, describing the seizure as unlawful.
Mam Pal Dhuor, 38, made the plea while testifying through a court interpreter on the 86th court session.
He had earlier told the court during the 85th session that security officers seized several items from him while he was boarding a flight to Uganda.
The confiscated belongings included his passport, an HP laptop, three watches (one of them gold), US$1,158 in cash, SSP 23,000, a gold necklace, two rings, and a bag.
During his concluding testimony on Wednesday, Pal complained that the security personnel who took the items had neither returned them nor formally presented them as court exhibits.
“I pray to the court that my items taken by the National Security Service should be returned to me because I was unlawfully detained without justification and my family incurred loss during my one-year unlawful detainment,” he stated.
Pal strongly denied the allegations made by prosecutors and a South African digital forensic expert, Peter Calvin, calling them false and unsupported by evidence.
The expert had earlier claimed that Pal unlawfully shared top-secret information regarding the March 2025 attack on a military garrison in Nasir, including details on mobilization, intelligence procedures, and militia strategies.
“No one from Nasir came to testify that I took part in the Nasir incident,” Pal said.
“Since 30 July 2022, I have never travelled to Nasir.”
Judge Stephen Simon Binjigwa, who is part of a three-judge panel, directed that the third accused, lawmaker Gatwech Lam Puoch, should prepare to take the stand after the court finishes with Pal.
The judge announced that cross-examination of the second accused will continue on Friday, 12 June.
Mam Pal Dhuor is one of eight individuals facing serious charges, including treason, crimes against humanity, murder, terrorism, and destruction of property over the March 2025 attack on an SSPDF base in Nasir.
The other accused persons are First Vice President Riek Machar, Puot Kang Chuol, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek, and Dominic Gatgok Riek.
While Machar is under house arrest, the rest of the accused are being detained by the National Security Service.
Prosecutors claim that forces from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), working with the White Army militia, killed 257 SSPDF soldiers — including commander David Majur Dak — and destroyed or looted military equipment worth approximately US$58 million in the attack.
All the defendants have denied the charges.
