Al Bashir’s ghost returns to haunt Sudan

These two Generals have worked together since 2019 when, yet again the military ousted the seventh president of the country; Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir. 

Bashir had been in power under various titles from 1989, when as a Brigadier General he led the military to oust the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.

In 1992 Bashir formed the National Congress Party (NCP) and went on to ‘win’ three ‘democratic elections’ masquerading as a democrat.

Bashir moved with the army as his walking stick to cow the opposition and lean on as he secured his place at the helm of Sudanese politics. He did not stop there. He picked all the vices from the classic repository of dictatorship to move him along for three decades.

The major one being that a leader who is desirous of hanging around for as long as ever, must preside over the systematic destruction of the state and all its vestiges.  That done, replace it with informal structures and systems with the president as an individual being at the center of it. It must be so efficiently designed, that it cannot work without the sponsor who in this case was Bashir.

Even when Bashir had a powerful and dependable tool like the army, he still had a parallel structure which was the RSF - an outfit directly answerable to him. It would also serve as his fallback position for his personal protection, in case the national army let him down.

From then on it was creating fakes of the rest of the state. A parliament with hangers on and opportunists who earned the perks that were the envy of the ordinary impoverished Sudanese who struggled to feed and fend for himself. They acted the part of giving the government as the face of democracy. Then a judiciary to help justify the dictatorships’ every move to appear as legitimate, constitutional and law abiding.

The rest is the story of managing a corruptocracy. Rewarding and creating a safe passage and haven for those who supported Bashir and his cabal of thieves, murderers praise singers and sycophants to remain in power. Those he could not buy off he fought, exiled or killed.
As the years of abuse went by, the economy could no longer sustain a social life that forces the people to ignore politics as long as they can afford something to eat and live quietly.

The people in 2019 with the help of foreign elements who have always wanted to have Sudan as part of their sphere of influence, took to the streets. They used the scarcity of bread and food as their motivation.

When it was obvious that the days of the decadent regime of Bashir was no longer sustainable, the military in an opportunistic bid to pacify the people and also save itself, turned against Bashir.

They deposed and incarcerated him. They put him on trial for corruption and promised to deliver him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague where he is indicted as a war criminal for the killing and rape in Darfur.

Because of the many years of the Bashir led absence and destruction of the state, it has not been easy for the military; itself a very corrupt institution, to make a break from the ghosts of the past.

The promise to hand over to civilian rule is not as easy as many assumed would happen. The very people who deposed and incarcerated Bashir are at risk of being prosecuted for the crimes for which Bashir is indicted. They will lose many of the economic privileges that come with the absolute power they enjoy, like access to public finance. It is safer to stay put in power and enjoy the immunity such a situation provides. That is why especially the RSF is resistant to any change for it may be the beginning of a risky journey to a perilous and uncertain destination that Bashir found himself in.

That is the strength of the ghost of Bashir. It is going to stay with Sudan for many painful years to come. When a long-standing leader who has destroyed and usurped all the powers of the state, collapses, here lies the challenge and way forward.

There is an urgent need to first get rid of what the dictator like Bashir had put in place as a replacement of the formal state.  They have to painstakingly build the state from scratch and that is back breaking work which requires patience and sacrifice.

The challenge with Sudan is that once again the military has taken on the role of leading the reform and correction of the mistakes of the past - which is basically themselves.

They are the stumbling block and no amount of reform will take place as long as they are still hanging around.

Bashir is gone but he is still around as his acolytes, heirs and most importantly his destructive ghost is still around; haunting Sudan. 

Sadly, it is going to be the same for many years to come. What we see now is only the beginning. Soldiers have their strengths. But the moment they taste the liquorice of political power their limitations come to the fore. That is now the tragedy of Sudan.

Twitter: @nsengoba