Truth Counts

Mohamed Elhassan

He is powerful, made up of imperceptible layers. He was only in his mid-teens when he first heeded the call to political action traveling to the Republic Palace of President Jafar Nimeiri seeking justice for his family.

He is a well-respected Sufi. In June, he was awarded a Masters Degree in Islamic Studies from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar). A recognized leader of the Kwahla tribe - with 16 million members.

Fast forward to 2010 and 2015 when he ran for President of the Sudan. In 2015, it was my privilege to serve in a minor advisory role. In recent years, he has given an enviable one hundred interviews with Al Jazeera Mobasha (life).

His name is Mohamed Elhassan. I merely call him "friend".

Mohamed Elhassan is president of the Sudanese Gathering Accord. He is a man who knows his business, takes care of his business, and more importantly, takes care of his people.

Less than a month ago he traveled to the military hospital in Omdurman to visit the VP of his organization. He then followed through with a transfer of funds to assist his friend. Army Sergeant Sidiq Abdelhafeez was conducting operations to protect the citizens of Bara, Kordofan from the Janjaweed. He was targeted and shot. Bravery in the face of adversity exacts its own price. And oath keepers are of a noble lineage.

Sergeant Sidig Abdelhafeez

This man, this remarkable man, is seasoned by adversity, walks into furnaces of fire, and has deep understanding of the challenges facing Sudan. In fact, he does not walk into a room. He drives into the room and takes command of the conversation. He is power collapsed into power. And at this moment in time, his voice is deserving of magnification.

2019:

It is necessary to revisit the year of 2019 as it relates to the sentiment on the ground today. This was known as the "Barracks Revolution" (Etsam Elgyada). Protesters flooded the streets of Khartoum, Omdurman, and many other cities on both sides of the Nile between April 11th-16th. Their position and safety were guaranteed by the Army. President Omar al Bashir was removed from office. The Sudanese were ebullient. After the coup, a transitional government was formed when a Democratic Framework Agreement was established. General Abdel Fattah al Burhan was designated as the President of the Sovereign Council. General Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemeti) became the Vice President. And the role of Prime Minister was granted to Abdalla Hamdok.

On a personal note: All did not go well for the Elhassan family during this time. There was a million man rally (Elmasirah Elmlyoniah) on June 30, 2019 because Gen. al Burhan and Gen. Hamdan Dagalo were not fulfilling their obligations to the people. They were not progressing on forming a legitimate government. During this rally, Muna, the wife of Mohamed Elhassan was hit by gunfire from the weapons of the Janjaweed. She nearly lost her life. The first hospital she was taken to lacked blood products needed for an exploratory laparotomy. She was taken to another facility and emergency surgery was performed. On arrival to Dallas, Parkland Memorial Hospital removed a final intact munition from her abdomen. I was later involved in assisting her with dressing changes to the wound.

Here is the thing:

A National Parliament was meant to be in working order within ninety days and a Constitutional government was to rise from the ashes of tumult. A framework had been agreed upon but it was never properly executed. PM Hamdok, for his part, sought to establish total control over the Parliament by only allowing the representatives of four political parties who supported his agenda as members of Parliament. He effectively marginalized any voices which would represent the best interests of all of the Sudanese people. He also made unwise decisions by ending gas and food subsidies. These policies stepped across the threshold of the Sudanese families in the same manner that the Jinn enter a home at dusk. And in what was counter-intuitive in a post-unrest environment, the Ministry of Education erased all references to the Qur'an in the public schools and secularized the curricula. For a culture which is based on the traditions of Islam, the introduction of concepts minus the tools provided by Islam brought a sense of unease and distrust. We forget. We really do, that cultural changes only occur across generations. These things take time. A heightened sense of betrayal fueled the imaginations for what transpired down the road.

2021:

January began quietly enough with Volker Perthes appointed as Special Representative for the Secretary General of Sudan and head of UNITAMS (United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan). His role lasted a mere six months, when in June - he was declared persona non grata.

For his part, Mohamed Elhassan, quietly took up the task of extensively and methodically visiting eight provinces and securing the support of eighty of 106 political parties. (I still remember my own sense of awe as I received images of him speaking in remote, rural areas.) He received the backing of 120 tribes and also the support from his tribe: the Kwahla. As a member of al-Qasariyya al-Tariqa - one of the oldest and most influential Sunni Sufi orders, he also commanded the allegiance from most of the additional Sufi orders. To put it quite simply, in single-handed manner he created a large political confederacy of support. He had credentials. And he had the trust of the Sudanese people.

Mohamed Elhassan emphasizes that what then happened in October of 2021 was not a coup. This unrest and populist revolt was called the "Palace Revolution". It was a course correction. What happened next, can be reviewed in this in-depth Wiki link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Sudanese_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

I still remember the call received after the Palace Revolution: "Tammy. I want you to be the first to know. I am seated in the same room with General al Burhan and General Dagalo. Tomorrow I will either become the Prime Minister or the President of the Sudan."

This would have been "Democracy by Agreement" or "Democracy by Consensus" and not "Democracy by Box" - because the chaos and confusion on the ground would not allow for orderly elections. The people had chosen him. This was fairly clear, in my mind.

Now because Africa-is-Africa (as I always say) - everything went sideways. Abdalla Hamdok returned to government, but this time, as President of Sudan. He lasted for three months. In the background, the Egsa (five Cabinet members) switched their allegiance to Hemeti; he steadily began to siphon off the political support for General al Burhan. The institutions all collapsed. And for one full year, there were no visible levers of governance.

2023-2025

The real war began on April 15th, 2023. And it is a bloody one. General Burhan was supported by the Sudanese people in 2019 and 2021. He was somewhat regarded as a populist folk hero. Hemeti, for his part, worked to change the narrative, and became politically strengthened by courting outside interests which are adversarial to the will of the people.

The current chaos is difficult to fathom. One village of three hundred in Mohamed's tribe has been completely wiped off the face of the earth. Men... women... children... elderly... babies. There is no breath of life within the landscape. Women are raped in front of their husbands and then forced to watch as they are murdered. More than one woman, has been hanged or crucified for resisting attack. The tips of bayonets are used to create eviscerating wounds leaving the injured to die from blood loss or a later occurring peritonitis. These are witnessed accounts coming from on the ground in Sudan. I have read a short note on X which states some are being buried alive. Why waste a bullet when you can hand your victim a shovel?

The UAE is just one of several nations which are arming the Janjaweed. As a journalist, I am reticent to place the reasoning of the leadership of the UAE on the page because I do not want to further inflame tensions. Journalistic prudence stands as sentinel and I will not churn the news for personal gain.

The International Organization for Migration reported recently that 88,892 from al Fashir have been displaced since October 26th. Mass displacements have happened in Tawila, Malit, and Sarif Omra. The RSF currently have control of all five states in Darfur except for parts of northern Darfur.

I asked my friend, "What is the greatest need for the Sudanese people?" He stated, "Security, food, and arms for the unarmed civilians. Assistance for the Army and General al-Burhan." What are now known as "The Silent People" - made up of farmers, shepherds, the gentle rural souls who have no power - are now desperate. (In Arabic, these would be referred to as al-Fuqaraa - or, the needy.) The Janjaweed should be dealt with according to their own cruelty.

At the end of the day, justice cannot always be reduced to the justice for the one individual. It can also be expanded to include a definition of a return to order; a return to order, so that justice can once again prevail. Those who remain, represent the interests of the families who have lost members in the war. This is responsible justice.

On a deeply personal note, Mohamed Elhassan had his mother transferred from the ancestral family compound in rural Sudan in 2023 and taken to Uganda for her safety. She died, on November 23, 2024. Perhaps... she died of a broken heart. The Elhassan family has provided funds for a water well to be drilled to preserve her memory.