After a 30-year-long stint as president, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir has been removed from office by the military. Before this historical feat, the 75-year-old leader remained dogged in his desire to remain in office, despite countless protests by Sudanese people demanding for his resignation.
Al-Bashir, like Algeria’s Bouteflika, is one of the longest-serving leaders in Africa, who has recently joined the ranks of those forced out of power. He was overthrown and taken into custody by Sudanese military personnel earlier this month.
Military In: Former President Al-Bashir comes from the Northern part of Sudan which, until independence in 1955, was a part of Egypt. He joined the military in 1960 where he rose through the ranks, moving from being stationed as a United Arab Emirates attaché in 1975 to serving as the head of an armoured brigade in 1981.
After leading what was described as a bloodless coup in 1989 and overthrowing the democratically elected Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, al-Bashir was installed as the Chairman of a transitional government called the Revolutionary Command Centre for National Salvation (RCC).
He, however, formed an alliance with the speaker of the Sudanese parliament and head of the National Islamic Front and went on to ban political parties, shut down the opposition, dissolve parliament and introduce Islamic law.
Parties were allowed once again in 1999, years after al-Bashir won the second presidential and parliamentary elections, after running for president unopposed.
Not Without Controversy: Like most leaders, al-Bashir’s tenure as president, was not without controversy. These scandals pit him against his people as well as several international organisations. Notoriously, the Internal Criminal Court (ICC) indicted and issued warrants for his arrest in 2009 over criminal charges involving war crimes and alleged genocide. Despite the warrants, he remained in power, winning another term in 2010.
Additionally, his decision to allow South-Sudan secede in 2011 with a bulk of the country’s oil fields dealt a strong blow to his authority as president but, the government’s decision to triple bread prices in the country put the final nail in his metaphorical coffin. This action resulted in nationwide protests starting in December 2018, which led to al-Bashir’s eventual removal.
Military Out: After years of defying the ICC and propagating an Islamist movement that involved hosting former Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, Sudan’s Minister of Defense, General Awal Ibn Auf, announced on live television, that the president had been overthrown.
He also stated that the transitional government will lead the country for the next two years, while the parliament will be dissolved and a three-month state of emergency imposed.
According to France24, the former president has been transferred to Kobar prison in the country’s capital of Khartoum and will be held there until further action is taken by the military.
