SUDAN’S newly reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (pictured) has ordered a halt to
sackings and a review of all appointments made after his detention in last month’s military coup.
Hamdok said in a statement on Wednesday that he had ordered ‘an immediate halt to dismissals and hirings in national and local public institutions until further notice.’
The prime minister, who is still without a cabinet after returning to his post in a controversial deal with top General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, said ‘recent hirings and dismissals will be studied and reviewed.’
Hamdok is also due to name a cabinet of technocrats under his deal with the military, but faces a challenge winning support from civilian groups.
Hamdok issued directives for security forces to secure planned protests on Thursday and to launch a process on Wednesday to release all detainees from the resistance committees.
Hamdok had said in an interview earlier in the day that the release of political detainees would take place on Wednesday or Thursday.
Hamdok also said that an investigation has been launched into violations committed against protesters since the military power grab, the state news agency said on Tuesday.
Hamdok accused of treason
Protest organisers have accused Hamdok of ‘treason’ and have vowed to maintain pressure on the military-civilian authority overseeing Sudan’s transition.
Twelve out of 17 ministers from Sudan’s bloc calling for a purely civilian government resigned on Monday, rejecting Hamdok’s strategy of engaging with the military.
Despite the agreement that led to the release of a handful of politicians, dozens of others remain in detention.
Activists have taken to social media to call for ‘Martyrs’ Day’ demonstrations on Thursday in honour of the 41 protesters killed in the post-coup crackdown.
Burhan had grabbed power and detained Hamdok on October 25 but, following international condemnation and mass protests, reinstated the premier last Sunday.
After the coup, Burhan had dissolved major institutions and dismissed the heads of state media, public companies and banks as well as many provincial officials.
Ambassadors who had announced their defections were also relieved of their duties.
Hamdok himself was placed under house arrest after the coup, which sparked a wave of mass street protests that triggered a deadly crackdown by the security forces.
On Nov
ember 11, Burhan formed a new Sovereign Council in which he and other military figures stayed on but members of the main civilian bloc were replaced.
Prior to the coup, the council had been charged with overseeing Sudan’s transition to civilian rule after the ouster of long-time autocratic president Omar al Bashir in 2019.
