The trial of suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and seven co-accused was adjourned on Monday until May 15 after judges announced they would attend the reception of the body of former Chief Justice Ambrose Riiny Thiik.

Presiding Judge James Alala Deng told the court during the 76th session at Freedom Hall that proceedings could not continue on Monday.

“We may not proceed because the judges will be going to attend the reception of the body of the former chief justice,” Deng said.

Ambrose Riiny Thiik, who died aged 86 on May 3 in Nairobi, Kenya, was a prominent jurist who held senior judicial positions in Sudan, South Sudan, and the former Southern Sudan administration.

He was appointed in December 2005 as the first President of the Supreme Court of Southern Sudan following the adoption of the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan.

He served in that position until July 2007, when he was succeeded by the late Justice John Wuol Makec.Prior to that, he served as Chief Justice of the Judiciary of New Sudan from 1998 to 2005, where he played a key role in establishing the court system during the civil war period.

In the ongoing Machar case, prosecutors allege that forces aligned with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) and the White Army militia killed 257 soldiers of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), including commander David Majur Dak.

They also destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million during an attack on the Nasir garrison in March 2025.

The accused face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, and crimes against humanity.

The co-accused are: Mam Pal Dhuor, Gatwech Lam Puoch, Lt. Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Camilo Gatmai Kel, Mading Yak Riek, and Dominic Gatgok Riek.Machar remains under house arrest, while the other co-accused are detained by the National Security Service.