White Nile residents reject land redistribution, water pollution

People in White Nile state denounce the decision of governor Abdelhamid Mousa Kasha to redistribute lands in El Gezira Aba. The state government ignores a court decision that forbids the disposal of industrial waste in the waterways.

Abdelrahman El Siddig, member of the Sudanese Human Rights Commission, told Radio Dabanga on Wednesday that the lands of the White Nile peninsula are a historical legacy since the Mahdist War that ended in 1899.

“It seems that the governor is unaware of the complexities of white Nile state and its social problems,” he commented.

The Mahdi

In the 1870s, a certain Mohamed Ahmed began to preach renewal of the Islam and liberation of the land from the British and Turco-Egyptian “oppressors”. Soon, he proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the promised redeemer of the Islamic world, and settled with his followers in El Gezira Aba, where they withstood an attack by Egyptian infantrymen in August 1881.

The Mahdi then began a strategic retreat to Kordofan where he incited many Arab tribes to join his revolt. On 25 January 1885, his Dervish fighters took over Khartoum from the British and Egyptians, and settled in the new capital of Omdurman. Only in 1898, Anglo-Egyptian joint forces managed to defeat the Mahdist forces.

Water pollution

He also said that the drinking water in the state is polluted by industrial waste.

“A number of worried residents lodged a complaint at the White Nile High Court. They provided documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Astak Laboratories that confirmed the water pollution,” he recounted.

“The court sentenced the state government for not acting against the pollution to a fine, and forbid the disposal of chemical substances into canals and the White Nile, to no avail.

“Many people and animals alike have been affected by the polluted water. Large numbers of dead fish floating in the Nile have become an ordinary sight,” he explained. “Most of the herdsmen migrated to South Sudan.”

On 18 September last year, Radio Dabanga reported about hazardous chemicals contaminating the White Nile. Hiba Abdelazim of El Sudani newspaper was detained on 10 September by the security apparatus, and questioned for hours about the articles she wrote about the subject.