| Submit your comments on this article |
| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| President Omar dismisses dissenting minister |
| 2002-08-25 |
| President Omar Beshir dismissed Transport Minister Lam Akol, who defected from the president's ruling National Congress to form a new party. "Bad boy! No seat for you!" The dismissal decree was announced late Thursday, a day after Akol and his colleague officially launched the Justice Party. No successor to Akol was announced. Must not be a very important seat, huh? At the launch of the Justice party last Wednesday Akol, a former engineering lecturer from southern Sudan, appeared together with Mekki Belayel from the Nuba Mountain and Amin Benani from Darfur, both of whom were formerly prominent National Congress members. Their stated reason for quitting the National Congress was that the party was not democratic in that it was being run by a small clique without transparency. That's because it's a dictatorship. What's complicated about that? The three politicians said they regard themselves as championing the cause of marginalised parts of the Sudan. Are they talking about the southerners? Omar's gonna have to deal with them on some level when it comes to running the government... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |