Following in the Footsteps of Idi Amin, Bokassa, and Samuel Doe
By: Sidiq Mihesi
In a deep dive into the psychology of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and a close examination of his contradictory statements and his adoption of lying as a method, one conclusion emerges. He has committed all these atrocities, foremost among them the massacre of dispersing the sit-in, in collaboration with the Rapid Support Forces and the Janjaweed militia. He also closed the doors of the General Command to peaceful youth, gunning them down and throwing their bodies into the Nile, all while he watched from the window of his office, seemingly enjoying this gruesome scene. His relentless killing of the youth continued unabated until the outbreak of the accursed war that he initiated. Two former regime leaders have confessed to his actions. All of this is driven by a blind desire to fulfill his fathers dream of becoming the ruler of Sudan.
Burhan followed the Sisi theory to the letter when he dispersed Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in, eradicating the Islamists in Egypt. However, in Sudan, he did the complete opposite during his first coup, where he relied on Sudanese Islamists and armed movements. His second coup took the form of a bloody war that he ignited, with the acknowledgment of two Islamist leaders. His accomplices in this endeavor are the very ones he freed from prison to lead the battle against the Rapid Support Forces. Burhan is a peculiar being controlled by a strange dream: that he is the next ruler of Sudan. This madness may be innate, acquired, or artificially induced, or most likely, sheer stupidity (known by various terms in Arabic such as foolish, idiotic, and ignorant). As the Dutch artist Broekhuijsen once said, even if a donkey were to attend school, it would not become a horse.
In his new role after emerging from the basement, Burhan adorns himself with the trappings of a head of state. He is welcomed by other world leaders, and the media affiliated with the Bashir regime addresses him as Mr. President. All of this serves to reinforce his belief that he truly is.
Regarding the title of this analysis, the recent coups in Niger and Gabon, and before that in Mali and Burkina Faso, along with the international communitys inability to take any action beyond appeals, similar to the situation in Sudan, have all encouraged Burhan to continue pursuing his fathers dream of ruling Sudan through force. Despite the defeat of his imaginary army and his emergence from what he considers a victory, he remains on the path to absolute power, regardless of repeated claims that the military does not seek to rule, a statement Burhan himself refers to in an implicit manner, suggesting that he does not aspire to governance.
In the expected scenario, even if the war were to end, the man, having tasted bloodshed, would likely return to the Framework Document he signed with the Freedom and Change Alliance. He would argue that the war has created a new reality that supersedes that document, and that the army has paid a price that the signatories did not bear. It is highly likely that he would extend his hand to Hemeti once again, and reconciliation would take place as if nothing had happened. Hemeti could very well become his deputy in the new Sudanese government. Lets remember that he fiercely defended Hemeti in the past, describing the Rapid Support Forces as the guardians of the countrys security and choosing its soldiers as guards for strategic military positions, the same mistake made by Bashir when he appointed Hemeti as his guarantor against a coup.
Burhan would consider everything that was agreed upon in the past as history. Watch and observe closely his statements; the war has not removed the tone of victory from them. He is determined to win, verbally at least, and his armys positions are occupied more than ever.
Burhan will not return to the Freedom and Change Alliance under its old terms, even if he claims to do so in the countries he visits and will visit.
His invitation to attend the United Nations General Assembly strengthens the ongoing illusion that he has become the legitimate president.
Sudan is promised a new bloody dictator named Abdel Fattah Bokassa, similar to Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the Central African dictator who changed his name to Salah ad-Din Bokassa and converted to Islam under Gaddafis auspices, becoming Salah ad-Din Ahmed Bokassa, the first in Central Africa.
Bokassa was a military officer like Burhan. He ruled the country for approximately eleven years, first as president and later as a self-proclaimed president for life.
Bokassas rule began with large doses of terrorism, much like what Burhan has done. He assumed all important government positions for himself and personally oversaw the striking of judges. Burhan did not strike the judges removed by the revolution, but he reinstated them to wipe out everything decided by the Dismantling of the Ingaz Regime Committee. Bokassa established a peculiar rule that allowed thieves to have their ears cut off after their first two crimes and their hands amputated after their third crime. Burhan released thieves and the criminals of the former regime to support him in his tainted ascent.
Bokassa emulated his hero, Napoleon, and crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire in a lavish ceremony costing 20 million, virtually bankrupting the country. Similarly, Burhan delegated armed militia leaders like the criminals Gabriel and Ardal to loot the wealth of the Sudanese people, which led to war and the displacement of the Sudanese population, both in the east and west.
Bokassas diamond-studded crown alone cost 5 million. In 1979, he arrested hundreds of schoolchildren for refusing to buy school uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives and personally oversaw the killing of 100 schoolchildren by his imperial guard. In a similar vein, Burhan is killing people with airstrikes inside their homes, causing roofs to collapse on their heads.
Samuel Doe, the 21st President of Liberia from 1980 to 1990, was another figure. Doe was a member of the National Democratic Party and came to power in 1980 through a military coup that ousted President William Tolbert, whom he later killed.
Does government increasingly adopted a racial perspective, with members of his ethnic group, the Krahn, swiftly dominating political and military life in Liberia. This led to heightened ethnic tensions and recurring fighting between the Krahn and other ethnic groups in the country, much like what Burhan is currently doing by enlisting the criminals of the Rapid Support Forces to kill his own people.
Does regime was marked by brutality, not only against many Liberians but also by blurring the lines between legitimate and illegitimate political activities.
As for Idi Amin Dada, the third President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979, he was a dictator whose actions baffled even the devil himself.
Idi Amin carried out a military coup in January 1971, ousting President Milton Obote, and was known for human rights violations, political suppression, racial discrimination, and extrajudicial executions. The exact number of casualties during his rule is still unknown, but estimates by international observers and human rights organizations range from 100,000 to 500,000 deaths, surpassing those killed by Burhan and Hemeti in Darfur during Omar al-Bashirs rule.
Burhan will likely intensify his killing operations as the sole means to reach power in Sudan. He has clearly lost any compassion for the youth he sacrificed through his orders, as their deaths are not even acknowledged. Their lives are treated as though they were nothing more than collateral damage. If Burhan were to come to power, he would likely follow in the footsteps of the three mentioned leaders, and his actions so far indicate his complete ignorance of politics. His advisors, like Abu Hegag and others, share in his ignorance.
Idi Amin Dada, during a period of his rule, believed he was implementing a series of economic reforms, one of which was the decision to expel Indians who had come to Uganda with the British and were engaged in various commercial and business activities, building a significant economic presence. General Amin expelled them, and most of them found refuge in the UK, where they were welcomed and granted facilities. This event became known as the Ugandan Indian expulsion, and here we have Burhan closing the door to foreign investors in a country that has already been devastated by war.
