Woman on Sudan's ruling council quits over broken transitional promises

A female politician on Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, the ruling party in the country, has resigned and accused the transitional government of ignoring civilian voices.

"The civilian component in the sovereign (council) and at all levels of government has become just a logistical executive body that does not participate in decision-making," Aisha Musa said in a video statement carried by the state news agency SUNA.

"Rather it only stamps the approval of pre-prepared decisions," she added.

Musa is one of just two women on the council, and her departure is a blow to diversity efforts.

She handed in her resignation after the killing of two protesters who had gone out to commemorate the 2019 uprising, and accused the transitional authorities, who are made up of the military, of "more killing, more injustice, poverty and suffering".

In her resignation statement she accused the transitional government of delaying the creation of the Legislative Council – a group which would share power with the Sovereignty Council and cabinet.

Transitional problems

Sudan has sacked its first female judge, Neamat Abdullah Mohamed Kheir and accepted the resignation of its chief prosecutor, the country's ruling body said, following mounting criticism over delays in delivering justice.

Kheir and Hebr were appointed in October 2019, months after the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir on the back of mass protests against his rule.

On Saturday, Sudan's army said it handed Hebr the results of a probe into the recent killing of two demonstrators who had been calling for justice for the victims of a 2019 violent protest dispersal.

Last week, hundreds gathered outside the army headquarters in Khartoum calling for speedy investigations into the killings of protesters during a 2019 violent dispersal of a mass sit-in at the same site.

Security forces dispersed last week's rally, killing two and wounding dozens.

The April 2019 sit-in was held to call for an end to Bashir's three-decade rule.

The iron-fisted ruler was ousted days later, but the protesters kept up the encampment for weeks demanding the transfer of power from the military to civilians.

In June 2019 and towards the end of Ramadan, armed men in military fatigues violently dispersed the camp, leaving at least 128 killed in a days-long crackdown, according to medics linked to the protest movement.

Families of victims have since been calling on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The ruling generals at the time denied ordering the bloody dispersal and called for a probe into the incident.