Umma leader defies party, joins talks on rival Sudan government

January 15, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of Sudan’s National Umma Party is engaged in talks in Nairobi that could lead to the formation of a rival government backed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the party’s acting head, Fadlallah Burma Nasir, and other party leaders have been meeting in the Kenyan capital since last week. The meetings focus on establishing a government in areas controlled by the RSF.

The National Umma Party, a major political force in Sudan, has publicly rejected the formation of a rival government. In a statement, the party warned that such a move would threaten national unity and risk dividing the country.

Media reports suggested the Umma Party’s coordinating council dispatched two senior officials to Nairobi to convey the party’s position to Nasir. These reports also named Nasir as a potential leader for a proposed sovereignty council within an RSF-backed administration.

Nasir, however, denied these reports as “baseless” in a statement. The Umma Party similarly refuted the reports in a press release attributed to its acting president.

The source told Sudan Tribune that discussions in Nairobi regarding the rival government were “70% complete,” despite disagreements among members of the anti-war coalition Tagadum.

The source declined to name other participants who have expressed reservations but mentioned “the Umma Party and some other parties.”

In December, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, a key member of the Tagadum, proposed forming a rival government to challenge the legitimacy of the military-led administration in Port Sudan. While the proposal initially faced widespread opposition, some independent coalition figures later supported it.