ZIONISM AND JANJAWEED[ISM]: THE PROBLEMATICS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ACTIVISM

Sun 14 December 2025:

Janjaweed[ism] is a phenomenon and may happen anywhere; it does not necessarily mean it is restricted to the Sudan; If we are not careful, Janjaweed[ism] may make its way into South Africa.

I am highly political, but not a politician; I have lived most of my adult life in South Africa; I am an architect with an interest in cities, space and spatial equity; I spent part of my youth in Khartoum distributing “free Mandela” petitions and chanting “Winnie Mandela is the symbol of our resistance”.

While we tell the stories of war, we must remember that we speak of communities, rich in culture and history, who were uprooted; we must tell stories of a people once industrious, independent, proud and peaceful who have found themselves with nothing, in makeshift camps and under street trees, being fed by villagers in other villages – themselves at risk of attack. While we tell the stories of war, we must remember the stories of legendary Sudanese hospitality, the neighbourhood/resistance committees and the community kitchens (takayya/takiyya), nominated twice, in two consecutive years, for the Nobel Peace Prize. There is more to the Sudan than what the media is presenting to you.

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Sudanese political history cannot be understood without some understanding of the hatred many Sudanese have for the Islamists – not as a people, but because of the wrongs of their 30-year reign in the Sudan; the youth revolution of December 2018 was built on the belief that the Islamic Movement needs to be removed from power; and they succeeded. The Islamists represent the “right”. A grouping of other political parties represent the “left”, including the communist party, various formations of socialist and/or democrats, etc. I have always belonged to the latter, yet today, I am aligned with the “right” as a strategic political position at this particular juncture in history.

The war in Sudan is not a civil war; it is not a war between two generals. We need to reflect deeply before we undermine the official Sudanese Army. We must not confuse a person/people/a political movement with an institution. The army institution is captured by the Islamists is a common response. However, the destruction of the Sudanese Army now would seriously disadvantage our own families and communities and put them at massive risk and danger. The majority of citizens express that they feel safe and protected in army-controlled zones. The army is complicit in many atrocities throughout history, however, the dismantling of the Army now means the loss of the Sudanese State.

What is happening is a deliberate and systematic erasure of a people, their heritage, history and memories. It is an attempt to destroy everything of symbolic significance to the Sudanese and to destroy their spirit. It is an attempt at a massive land grab, an occupation, a systematic demographic shift and an eradication of a people, their culture and their heritage. All means of production and livelihood systems are being deliberately destroyed.

Some Sudanese, and their international allies, are using the death, torture, rape and starvation of their OWN people to, not only solve ALL of Sudan’s problems, but also the problems of the WHOLE world. To those who take this position, where are these civilian-led democracies that you aspire to? None of the nations around you, very few of the nations of the so-called developed world (where you cannot even raise a Palestinian flag without being threatened), not even the United States of America where people now speak about Trump in nervous whispers! We ALL aspire to a civilian-led democracies, not just in Sudan but throughout the world; we aspire to peace, we aspire to wise leadership, but not at the cost of the lives lost in the process – ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE NOT OUR OWN LIVES TO GIVE. Every distorted message is a cause for a lost life, a raped child, a beaten woman, a starving society.

Zionism is a political movement; Zionism is not Judaism; Zionism is based on ethnic superiority; Zionism is based on a belief that a land belongs a specific people at the exclusion of others; Zionism is based on a belief that the people that occupy a particular land do not deserve to be on that land.

The Janjaweed, which means “devils on horseback”, is a militia now rebranded as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); they are an ethnic people scattered across the Sahel region of Africa, beyond the Sudanese borders, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. The Janjaweed were established by Omar El Bashir’s 30-year military regime; through their history they have been funded by the European Union (EU) to stop African immigration into Europe, used by Saudi Arabia to fight its war in Yemen, sponsored by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to protect its strategic military and economic interests in the Sudan.

Who else benefits from the instability in the region? What are the links with Israel? The Janjaweed are certainly using the same genocide methodologies as those being used by Israel. The Janjaweed, like the Zionists, are not a religious but a political movement which aims to control, occupy, displace, achieve a demographic shift to take over land and replace the original inhabitants of the land by a different ethnic grouping.

The UAE is the main weapon supplier to the Janjaweed and the main beneficiary of the war; they claim that they are concerned about Islamist influence in the Sudan and that the democratic transition was disrupted. The hypocrisy of the UAE tell Sudanese about democracies, human rights and sometimes even women’s rights! A country being led by Princes and Amirs who inherit titles from their family members and whose women are nowhere to be seen in meaningful public arenas. How can the UAE speak of a civilian-led democracy in the Sudan! UAE does not own Sudan. Sudan is, bluntly put, none of their business.

Being pro-Palestinian without understanding the dynamics of the region is highly problematic. Did I always understand this? No. It took something as drastic as my home country descending into a brutal war and 2.5 years of observation and analysis to understand this. Does this forgive South African silence on the Sudan? No… it is also difficult to forgive the ignorance about Sudan when we are a people being eradicated, figuratively and literally. We are a state being divided and re-shaped by imperial forces.

Our neighbourhood is in a narrow area of Khartoum between the Blue and White Niles, about 15km across, close to the airport as well as the army headquarters. The people in that area were 100% displaced. One of the last people remaining reported, they had killed and eaten the peacocks (kept by one of our neighbours). The rebuilding of infrastructure is easy compared to the rebuilding of community. Our neighbourhood is now a mere WhatsApp group. A village of 12000 people, about 120 km south of Khartoum on the east of the Blue Nile was invaded and people were terrorised out of their homes. When the last group of people left the village, with great difficulty as they had a severely disabled person with them, a young girl wrote a poem addressing them: “As you leave, close the door of the village behind you.”

As village after village, and town after town, in central Sudan was liberated by the Sudanese army, the militia was pushed west into the Darfur region. The city of El Fashir was under siege for 18 months, before the militia overpowered the army in October 2025. During the siege, El Fashir had reached level 5 famine levels, and the militia had built a barrier around the city preventing people from escape and preventing food from coming in. The satellite imagery of the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) over many months is sufficient to tell the brutality of the days that followed demonstrated by piles of bodies and blood-stained ground. The genocide was thorough and complete, today, HRL report that there is no evidence of any movement or human activity in the city. The refugee camps receiving the people escaping the city report: “the numbers do not add up.” It is believed that in a couple of days, over 25000 people were killed.

What if we understand global conflicts as interconnected, fuelled by the same streams of funding, rather than fragmented? What if we saw the conflicts as wars against civilians in an attempt to capture the resources and claim the power? To borrow an expression from Congolese colleagues, “This isn’t just conflict – it’s organised theft at an industrial scale.” Our Congolese friends elaborate: “[The intention is] the maintenance of global supply chains and corridors – whatever the commodity is, in an extractive and exploitative system.” Sudanese Gum Arabic, Sesame seeds and gold still make their way, in uninterrupted flows, to global corporations. It is “… a resource grab, backed by Western interests seeking to secure their supply chains…”

Some questions for us today: Why did President Ramaphosa meet with Sudan’s General Hemedti, the leader of the Janjaweed a few months after the war broke out? Is there a story here to be investigated? Ramaphosa, Prize bulls, Cash in couches, A Dubai-based Sudanese business man. What is South Africa’s connection with the United Arab Emirates?

We gave a talk at the NMF and warned of UAE influence in SA; as we approached our car after the talk, we noticed a plaque on the wall stating “the NMF is sponsored by the UAE” – UAE tentacles run deep in SA.

Janjaweed[ism] is like Zionism; it is a phenomenon and may happen anywhere; it does not necessarily mean it is restricted to the Sudan If we are not careful, Janjaweed[ism] may make its way into South Africa.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Independent Press.

Author:

Amira Osman

Professor of Architecture and SARChI: DST/NRF/SACN Research Chair in Spatial Transformation (Positive Change in the Built Environment), Tshwane University of Technology

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