Sudanese activists and opposition figures condemned the appointment of Abdullah Darf — a long-time National Congress Party stalwart and former defence lawyer for ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir — as justice minister in Port Sudan junta leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s interim cabinet.
Prime Minister Kamil Idris, named by Burhan in May, swore in five additional ministers this week, bringing the lineup to 10 of 22 planned posts. Darf’s elevation drew the sharpest reaction: critics said it signals a comeback for the Islamist-leaning faction toppled by mass protests in April 2019.
Darf served on Bashir’s legal team during the 2019 trials of senior regime figures and held a senior role in the former ruling National Congress Party. “Reinstalling Bashir’s inner circle undercuts everything the revolution stood for,” political analyst Sara El-Tayeb told local media.
Idris also bowed to pressure from the Joint Force alliance of jihadist movements that backs the SAF, retaining their nominees in the new regime. As a result, Jibril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, kept the finance portfolio.
Pro-democracy groups warned that the reshuffle risks entrenching SAF-Islamist influence just as Sudan seeks international support to end its civil conflict and restart a stalled transition to civilian rule.
