THE POLITICS OF MAY (1969–1976)

The Ascent of Colonel Nimayri

By May 1969 there was widespread agreement that parliamentary rule had not just failed to grapple with the country's problems but was also prominent among them. Popular reaction to its overthrow occupied a narrow spectrum between apathy and resignation. The failure of the previous military regime in 1964 had at least been unattended by the bitter disappointment that seemed an inevitable consequence of the parties' rule; if soldiers could do little better, they certainly could do no worse – or so it seemed – and the rhetorical flourishes of a new regime provided some relief from the torpid inconsequentiality of the politicians. But in this belief Sudanese were wrong: no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse.

The Free Officers Movement that overthrew the parliamentary regime in May 1969 resembled only superficially the military regime of 1958–64. Within days of its coming to power, it depicted itself in the Nasserite mold as successor to the “popular forces” that had overthrown that earlier military regime and been thwarted by the politicians in 1965. Thus, although the usual steps were taken immediately – suspension of the (still provisional) constitution and suppression of its institutions, banning of the parties and arrest of their leaders, imposition of censorship – these were followed by more radical departures, some symbolic, others unmistakably indicating a change of direction.