AU’s Faki is advised on Sudan by official close to al-Bashir: letter

May 20, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki is allegedly advised on Sudan by his Social Affairs Commissioner Amira Elfadil who is a Sudanese female close to the former ousted President Omer al-Bashir.

In a letter to Faki seen by Sudan Tribune, Ibrahim Taha Ayoub, the head of Sudanese Diplomat Association, which is one of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA)’s groups, blamed him for consulting on Sudan Ms Elfadil who is a former minister of al-Bashir’s government and a member of his National Congress Party (NCP).

On 30 April, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council said the Sudanese army generals should hand over power to a civilian-led authority within 60 days. Initially, it had given them 15 days.

The regional body also appointed a Mauritian diplomat as special envoy to the AUC chairperson to brief to PSC every three weeks on the political developments in Sudan.

In his letter of 18 May, Ayoub described Ms Elfadil as “the representative of the defunct regime” before to say “We are now informed that she is interfering with the work of your Organization and furthermore influencing your decision on the matters affecting our country”.

“Please note that, with all due respect to your good self, we cannot accept to see the AUC being used as a conduit to bring back repression and corruption to Sudan and instability to the Region,” further stressed the former foreign minister for the government of April 1985 Uprising.

The Sudanese professionals who led the four-month protests before to topple al-Bashir’s regime were recently angered by the failure of the African Union Commission to condemn the attack of 13 May on peaceful protesters which resulted in the death of five youth and an army officer.

Also, the opposition groups were also annoyed by the two-month delay given to the Transitional Military Council after a request the latter made to the regional body and in flagrant violation of the Lome Declaration on Response to Unconstitutional Change of Government of July 2000 which provides to immediately suspend the concerned member state.

Ms Elfadil former Sudanese minister of social welfare was elected as African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs in January 2017.

Several days ago Sudanese activists posted messages on the social media saying that Elfadil was part of the NCP shadow diplomatic brigades that work to re-establish al-Bashir’s regime and called to remove her from the AUC stressing she was connected to Islamists elements within the military council.

(ST)