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A military court began Monday to hear the trial of an army general accused of treason for allegedly planning a rebellion against the government of President Salva Kiir.
Major General Stephen Buoy Rolnyang has been charged with "treason, insecurity-related offenses", as well as disobedience to army orders, according to deputy spokesman for the military. Army, Brigadier General Santo Domic.
He is currently being tried by a seven-member military court, consisting of the army chief, General Jok Riak.
The buoy was stopped in May last year in North Mayom, after defying army orders to report to army headquarters in Juma, Domic said.
The spokesman added that after defying these orders, Buoy and his division's troops unilaterally decided to settle in Mayom, a move interpreted as a defection aimed at provoking rebellion.
"It is the prerogative of the commander-in-chief and the head of the defense forces of the army to ensure that justice is done in the affairs of insecurity," said Domic.
The court postponed the trial until next Thursday after the Buoy defense team complained that the ranks of the hearing committee members are inferior to those of their client.
It is rare for a general to be brought to justice in this war-torn country, and the Buoy case is only the second involving senior army officials since the beginning of the conflict in 2013.
The fighting began when Kiir accused his former MP, Riek Machar, of planning a coup.
Since then, nearly 400,000 people have been killed and millions forced to leave home or on the verge of starvation.
In early 2014, a Juba High Court tried four chief generals, who were also politicians, for treason. They were then pardoned and released without conviction.
They then named the former detainees and are now signatories to a peace agreement signed in September 2018, which is the latest effort to end the protracted conflict.
Observers report a decline in fighting since the signing of the agreement, but repeated violations of the ceasefire have been reported, while armed groups not parties to the agreement continue to confront, especially in the Greater Equatoria region.
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