PALU READY TO INTERVENE IN SUDAN BAR CRISIS

The Pan African Lawyers' Union (Palu) says it is ready to intervene in the crisis that has befallen the bar association in Sudan.

This follows an appeal by the country's lawyers  that their body risked being scrapped by the military government which came to power last year.

Usman Mohamed, the President of Sudanese Bar Association claimed in Arusha on Thursday that the military government was not comfortable with the legal body.

He told the just ended annual conference of the Arusha-based continental legal facility that the bar association was one of the professional bodies targeted by the military government.

Sudan came under the military government in October last year when soldiers loyal to Lt. General Abdelfattah El Burhani toppled the civilian government led by prime minister Abdallah Hamdok.

Mr. Mohamed said efforts by the bar association to come to terms with the Transitional Government Sovereignty Council ruling the country have borne no fruits.

PALU CEO, Donald Deya said the problems facing the Sudan Bar Association were beyond mere friction with the authorities currently in charge.

However, he told this blog that the continental bar association was ready to send a team of its officials to seek ways not only to reconcile the two sides but to rescue the bar from being proscribed.

"To start with, we will send a delegation there to find out the crux of the matter", hinting that the crisis could have its roots in the former regime of Omar Bashir who was toppled in 2019.

Recently, there were reports of pro-government leaders of the national bar association in Sudan elected in office,a flagrant interference of the judicial organs by the Executive.

Members of the bar as well as the opposition parties have questioned the results, describing the electoral process as flawed and fraudulent.

Newly elected Palu President Karim Abdoul Bagwi said  the organization was aware of the situation in Sudan since 2020 although   no concrete measures have been taken.

"We could not intervene after the outbreak of Covid 19 but soon we will send a fact-finding mission to find out the root cause, especially the fate of the bar officials suspended by the military", he pointed out.

Palu is a premier continental forum of lawyers and lawyers' associations which was established in 2002 to reflect the concerns and aspirations of the African people in legal matters.

The organization brings together the continent's regional and national lawyers' associations and over 1,000 individual lawyers across Africa.

Palu is built on the rule of law and good governance and works in partnership with a range of governmental and non-governmental actors, including the African Union (AU) and the East African Community (EAC).

The outgoing President of the continental lawyers' body  Chief Emeka Obegolu lashed out at what he described as proliferation of restrictive laws in Africa.

"Authoritarian regimes in Africa are increasingly exploiting their country's legal framework to eliminate opposition", he explained.

Chief Emeka claimed that laws ostensibly designed to  regulate civic activity or protect public order were being manipulated "to restrict the fundamental rights of citizens".

He called on the AU to work with the bar associations and civil society to develop standards for drafting public safety legislation "that adequately protects citizens without infringing on their constitutionally guaranteed rights".