Kenya must speak up, stand up for Sudan

Members of Sudan's security forces patrol patrol the streets of Khartoum on June 6, 2019 after a deadly crackdown on a rally in the capital. [AFP]

On Thursday, the African Union (AU) issued its statement suspending Sudan from the organisation until the ruling military junta cedes power to a civilian government.

This is commendable. Gone are the days when regional organisations sat idly as governments dehumanised and brutalised their populations with abandon.

The abuse of Africans anywhere on the planet degrades the humanity of all Africans, regardless of ethnicity, class, gender or religion. 

Before the AU’s announcement, the various militias that comprise the military council had conducted a coordinated operation to break the back of the protests and sit-ins that brought down former President Omar Al-Bashir. So far, tallies suggest dozens were killed. The real numbers are likely much higher.

With support from Middle Eastern Governments, the junta is bent on hoarding power at all costs. Even if it means killing Sudanese people in the streets.

The Saudis and their allies are keen on having Sudanese kids fight their dirty war in Yemen.

Sudan’s military leaders continue to happily carry water for a murderous regime that cares little for human life, at home and abroad.

The real power within the Transitional Military Council (TMC), is Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, a former Janjaweed commander. The Janjaweed, of course, are the marauding genocidal gang infamous for ethnic cleansing in Darfur. A Sudan in which the Janjaweed dominate Khartoum is not a recipe for prosperity in the country, or in the wider region.

Our government has remained quiet about the goings on in Khartoum. The same is true for other governments within the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

There is little leverage these governments have vis-à-vis the violence entrepreneurs in the TMC.

It could also be due to the cultural inertia of having been habituated to delegate such matters to the international community.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), members of the so-called international community are increasingly pre-occupied with their own domestic crises.

The yawning vacuum created by the retreat of the US-dominated “international community” is quickly being filled by all kinds of actors. In the wider Eastern African region, this has been done by actors such as China, Turkey and the Gulf states. Meanwhile, countries in the region (including Kenya) have idly sat on their hands, ever willing to play second fiddle to others.

This must change. A peaceful and prosperous Sudan would be a natural economic partner.

We could learn a thing or two about agriculture from them. They could benefit from importing our produce. A stable Sudan is vital for continued stability in South Sudan.

The fall of Bashir provides an opportunity for us to bind our peoples together in commerce and to open opportunities for greater political stability in the wider region.

This is not a call for some blanket interventionist stance in the region. Rather, it is a nudge for us to expand our view of our role in the region.

We should stand for the rights of the Sudanese to self-determination. And while doing so, we should also create opportunities for commerce with the people of Sudan.

 -The writer is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University