Al-Burhan reappoints controversial judge to head Sudan’s Constitutional Court

August 30, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – The head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a decree on Saturday appointing Wahbi Mohamed Mukhtar as president of the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court has been inactive since its term expired on January 12, 2020, without the appointment of new judges. The 2019 Constitutional Document, agreed upon by the military and civilian factions following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, mandated the formation of a court by a High Judicial Council; however, the law establishing that council was never passed.

“Al-Burhan issued a constitutional decree today appointing Dr. Wahbi Mohammed Mukhtar as president of the Constitutional Court,” the Sovereignty Council said in a statement. The decree directs all relevant state bodies to implement the decision.

The appointment is based on a recommendation from the National Judicial Service Commission. In July, the commission urged the Sovereign Council to reinstate the Constitutional Court.

The commission’s responsibilities include recommending the appointment of Constitutional Court judges, the chief justice and their deputies, and national supreme court judges, among other powers.

Mukhtar previously held the same post until 2019. He became a controversial figure after issuing a ruling to release two senior officials from the former regime, Ahmed Haroun and Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein, giving prosecutors a two-week deadline to either charge them or set them free.