Suspended Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chuol. [Photo: Courtesy]JUBA—Suspended Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol on Wednesday described his arrest on March 4th, 2025, in striking terms, claiming he was forcefully taken into custody “like a bag of rice” from Konyo-konyo market.
In his statement during the 74th session in Juba, Chol alleged that officers of the National Security Service arrested him abruptly at around 11 PM from his residence in Thongping, without presenting a warrant of arrest.
“A whole minister, Your Lordship, not removed from the office, was collected like a big bag of rice from a shop at Konyo-Konyo market,” Chol said.
Chol, the first accused in the ongoing Nasir incident, said the manner in which he was handled reflected unnecessary force and disregard for his status as a senior government official.
“I went with them to the National Security Service Operation Department on the riverside and spent about 10 minutes there, after which I was told to go back home while being escorted,” he explained.
He said he was first taken to the National Security Service operations department at Riverside, briefly released, and then re-arrested shortly after returning to his home.
“Immediately after our arrival at my residence, a call came through ordering the officer in charge of my arrest to take me back to the department.”
He said he was arrested alongside 11 others, including his bodyguards, a gatekeeper, relatives, and students who had visited his apartment to watch a football match.
“They went inside and brought everybody they found inside the apartment, including students and their colleagues, a total of 9 of them who had come home to watch the football match. Lt. Gen. Camilo Gatmai Kel was arrested at the gate where we found him talking with boys,” he said.
“All of us, 12 in number, including the gateman who was on duty at the apartment that night, were all taken to the Riverside. The gateman was released the next morning, while the other 9 were released on a later date after a week at the Riverside.”
He also alleged that his phones were confiscated immediately after his arrest and that his passwords were obtained under threat.
“Our phones were taken immediately, all of us, and they were taken by force. The passwords to our phones were not provided voluntarily; they were obtained by force as well, on the 5th of March, 2025, under explicit threat that we would face serious consequences if we did not comply with the national security officers,” he stated.
Presiding Judge James Alala Deng formally adjourned the hearing to Friday, May 8, 2026, for judges to continue examining the first accused, Puot Kang Chol.
Machar, a key opposition figure and former rebel leader, is among eight accused in the case, which has drawn significant political and public attention.
The accused include Riek Machar Teny, 73; Puot Kang Chuol, 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 forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO), allied with the White Army militia, killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defence Forces soldiers, including commander David Majur Dak, and destroyed or seized military equipment worth about $58 million in an attack on a garrison in Nasir in March 2025.
