President Omar Al Bashir

Opinion: Al-Bashir had the “State Reserves” at his Palace!

“I’m laughing straight to the bank with this

(Ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha, ha ha ha ha ha)” – 50 Cent . ‘Straight to the Bank’ (Released: 26.06.2009)

Now were in the days of Post Al-Bashir in the Republic of Sudan. Where the public and revolution continues, even as the Transitional Council are continuing their rule. Two days ago his fate is getting sealed and detained at the Kober Maximum Prison. That the man of 30 years in power is now undergoing investigation by the same authorities that he controlled for so long. This must be a turn of events no-one expected. Certainly, the previous dictator didn’t anticipate this, because why else. Would he have such vast amounts of cash in his Presidential Palace.

Not that I am shocked that from the same authority, that made it illegal to have cash-in-your-home, the mastermind behind that policy and that state of emergency law had millions upon millions in his own estate/palace. Therefore, it is vindication, that the state get these funds returned from a President for Life. Whose got cut short by a military coup d’etat and later detained. Which is in the end, meaning he is losing all his privileges and entitlements. Now, the authorities are emptying his palace and while doing so, they found a treasure chest with massive amounts of cash.

As reported by Dabanga:

“In a statement, the Senior Public Prosecutor Mutasim Mahmoud announced the seizure of $351 million, €6,7 million, and SDG 5 billion ($105 million*) at the residence of deposed President Omar Al Bashir. Mahmoud confirmed that the cash is secure within the vaults of the Bank of Sudan, and that charges will be investigated against former President Al Bashir under the foreign exchange law and money laundering” (Dabanga – ‘Sudan authorities seize Al Bashir cash stash’ 19.04.2019).

We can now see, in a Republic, which was in a fiscal jeopardy, in a state of lacking foreign currency and hyper-inflation. Where the prices of bread and others needed commodities where rising. In this manner, the findings are really showing the selfish and the abundantly clear memo of what sort of leader Al-Bashir was. As he could own the State Reserves or even the total Foreign Exchange, he could have on his own spiced up the whole economy. He could have infused the funds and helped to stop the fiscal instability of the Republic. Instead his greed and his vicious heart didn’t want to give way.

That a dictator of 30 years are capable of doing this, while the common man is struggling to buy bread. Shows what sort of leadership it was in the Republic. They really started the demonstrations in the middle of December 2018, because of tiredness of the dictatorship. Which went from weeks of protests into a sit-in demonstrations at the Army Headquarters. That turned into a revolution that ended this, but they are still working to dismantling the military dictatorship of Al-Bashir; As they are working on the transition to a civilian government.

As we see with the massive amounts cash been stored in the palace of the President. It shows his intent and his actions as a President. That he had the ability to have a personal bank in his home. He didn’t need to go to the bank or even have a bank-account. Al-Bashir had enough to travel to or to live lavish until infinity. Peace.

South Sudan: Points of Framework Agreement (25.06.2018)

Communique of the 32nd Extra-ordinary Summit of IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government on South Sudan (21.06.2018)

South Sudan: The War-Lords wasn’t ready to speak about Peace!

In South Sudan the prolonged civil war is continuing and with the fresh dialogue between the parties didn’t help. Some had hope that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – In Government (SPLM-IG) or the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) under the leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayardit. He has been ruling and with an iron fist. While the main opposition leader and rebel Dr. Riek Machar are running the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army – In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO). There is also a coalition of other rebels and opposition, who is the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) of 8 political parties/militias, some of them are run by big men like Dr. Lam Akol (National Democratic Movement – NDM) and Gen. Thomas C. Swaka (National Salvation Front – NAS).

Therefore, the knowledge of delegations from SSOA, TGoNU and SPLM/A-IO in the IGAD High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) that has failed as even the house-arrested Machar couldn’t mend the fences or the idea of peaceful progress. That means the army and militias will continue to fight until they got supremacy.

Some people had hope as Ethiopian Government hosted this 32^nd Extra-Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa and the shared arrangement to work on the “Revised Bridging Proposal” for all the stakeholders in the conflict as IGAD prepared for the dialogue this week. Still, that did not make it easier. They have the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) &Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM). All of these are interfering and monitoring the Republic. This combined with all the NGOs and Bilateral Organizations who support as well. Therefore, the international community is involved in the process. They are bookkeeping and securing needed services in the midst of the civil war, even footing the bills for it all. So the TGoNU can continue their fighting against their opposition.

This combined with various agreements that has not been kept, cease fire violations and such. These War-Lords really has no plan of quitting. They are preoccupied with the continued conflict and the looting of the Republic. There major resources being squandered away, not only seen by the Sentry in their reports, but the Kenyan bloggers are looking into the money laundering and estates owned by the War-Lords from South Sudan. Clearly, they are preoccupied with earning money on the toils and tears created by the conflict. That is why they are afraid of their future if the conflict ends. The guns are speaking their language. Even as the people are still lingering in refugee camps abroad and the Republic has no solution. The leadership isn’t hungry for peace, it is hungry to overcome its advisory.

At this point as the years lingers and the leaders continue to eat of the poverty, the famine and civil-wars, even as the state is bankrupt, creating higher bank-notes and the international community is footing the bills for development and needed supplies in refugee camps. This is clearly not the intention. But that is the sad reality as the innocent are dying and is afraid. The own leadership are holding this on. They are violating agreements or stifling it. If they are not getting their way, they are picking up guns or sending tanks to their yards. That is what happen in 2016, when the 2015 Agreement was starting to be established. However, that only lasted months before the new fresh conflict we are seeing today. Since then, there has been more deflections and more creations of new outfits who wants both Machar and Kiir to step down. However, none of them seems to fit the bill.

The state of affairs is sad. The people deserve peace, but War-Lords are busy finding ways to outsmart the enemies. Instead of dialogue and building real bridges, they are instead blowing them up hoping no-one finds out.

The people of South Sudan deserves better, but the leadership is busy killing each other and trying only to use ammunition to do so. They are not interested in talking. They know the trigger and is ready to aim. Peace.