Nasir Commissioner, SPLA-IO backed late White Army commander Tor Gile – Witness

JUBA – The Special Court on the Nasir Incident on Wednesday heard testimony alleging that the Nasir County commissioner, together with SPLA-IO officials, endorsed the appointment of the late Tor Gile as commander of the White Army shortly before the March attacks on SSPDF positions in Upper Nile State.

The claim was made by the prosecution’s fourth witness, First Lieutenant Mohammed Ahmed Jido, an SSPDF soldier evacuated from the Wech-Yar-Adiu garrison on March 6, during the court’s 32nd session held at Freedom Hall.

Lt. Jido told the court that on March 1, a joint meeting involving SPLA-IO forces, armed youth and Nasir County Commissioner James Gatluak Gatluak Lew resulted in Tor Gile’s appointment as the new White Army leader. He alleged that the decision came amid heightened tensions and increased armed activity around Nasir County.

According to the witness, the situation had deteriorated from mid-February, with SSPDF soldiers facing repeated ambushes while collecting firewood and fishing near the garrison. He said civilians from surrounding areas began moving toward the SPLA-IO barracks in Mandeng on February 15, followed by meetings held by the White Army at the county headquarters the next day.

Jido testified that heavily armed SPLA-IO forces later arrived in Nasir, prompting SSPDF commander Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak to seek clarification from the county commissioner. The commissioner, he said, explained that civilians had gone to Mandeng to collect UN food aid and that SPLA-IO forces were providing security for a White Army leadership meeting.

The witness further alleged that SPLA-IO forces subsequently left Nasir to attack barges along the Sobat River transporting SSPDF troops before returning to the area.

Lt. Jido also told the court that on March 2, Dr. Riek Machar allegedly spoke by phone with White Army and SPLA-IO leaders in Nasir, ending the conversation on what he described as a “good moral note.” He claimed he was later informed that the call paved the way for plans to attack the Wech-Yar-Adiu garrison.

According to his testimony, Tor Gile led the first attack on March 3, which SSPDF forces repelled, killing him. A second assault on March 4, led by his deputy Kang Makana, allegedly overran the garrison.

Jido said he and Maj. Gen. Majur Dak were wounded and trapped inside an armoured personnel carrier (APC). He alleged that senior SPLA-IO officers later entered the garrison and that Majur received phone calls from Dr Machar urging him to surrender—calls Majur reportedly rejected.

He further testified that UN helicopters attempted to evacuate the wounded soldiers, but ongoing gunfire disrupted the operation, during which Maj. Gen. Majur Dak was killed. Jido said those trapped in the APCs survived for several days on dry fish and water drained from the vehicle’s radiator.

Earlier in the session, the prosecution re-examined its third witness, Captain Joseph Malong Akot, an SSPDF Military Intelligence officer also evacuated from Nasir on March 6.

Akot told the court that SPLA-IO fighters and the White Army were allegedly operating together in Nasir and recalled an ambush incident while collecting firewood that he said was never investigated.

All parties were present at the start of the proceedings except the sixth accused, Brig. Gen. Camilo Gatmai Kel, who was absent due to health reasons.