Some see the first vice president’s trial as a provocation that has set the country on a path to war.

Editor’s note: This article originally stated that more than 10,000 Nuer civilians were killed in Juba in 2013. Local media and experts say closer to 20,000 people were killed, while a 2014 United Nations report cited the killing of least 300 in one incident. The article has since been updated to reflect the uncertainty about the numbers.

Juba, South Sudan – As he was ushered into a barred holding cell inside an events hall turned courtroom on a morning in mid-October, the bright smile and relaxed demeanour of Riek Machar, South Sudan’s embattled first vice president and opposition leader, belied both the severity of the charges against him and the immense stakes for his country.

In September, Machar and 20 co-defendants from his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) party were indicted on charges of terrorism, treason, and crimes against humanity for their alleged role in a March attack on a military garrison that the government says killed more than 250 soldiers.

Machar has denied the charges while the SPLM-IO has called the accusations “baseless” and “politically motivated”.

As more than 1,000 people streamed into the venue to watch the proceedings – which began in late September and have been open to the public – several observers told Al Jazeera they were concerned by what they saw as the government’s weaponisation of the justice system to sideline President Salva Kiir’s chief political rival. They warned that the trial was deepening resentment among communities that revere Machar, and risked intensifying violence already unfolding across rural swaths of the country.

“This is a political trial. The state is using the court against its opponents,” said Lincoln Simon, a 37-year-old nonprofit director who says he’s attended every session out of a sense of civic duty. He thinks Machar is being scapegoated to hide broader government failures, like spiralling inflation. “Our leaders have failed, and now they are looking for someone to pin the blame on.”

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William Tong, 62, a retired factory worker, is a longtime supporter of Machar’s opposition party who has also been attending the proceedings. “We are watching this trial to see whether or not this is a country run by the rule of law,” he said, adding that he is keeping an open mind but hasn’t yet seen evidence that he finds compelling. “The people are eager to see evidence. We can be convinced, but we aren’t yet.”

Others, like James Majok, support the trial.