Sudan’s new spy chief vows to make agency stronger

KHARTOUM – The newly appointed Director-General of the General Intelligence Service, Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mofadl, on Saturday pledged to consolidate the professional practice of the agency and the skills of its personnel.

Mofadl’s appointment was reported by several media on the 27th of last November, but there was no official press statement confirming his new position.

The well known Islamist military had been the GIS deputy general-director since 21 November 2019.

Addressing the agency staff members for the first time on Saturday, he praised their past efforts and stressed that he would work to consolidate the principle of professionalism in the agency.

“The professional vocational training would be one of my priorities during the next phase,” said the official news agency SUNA.

After the collapse of the al-Bashir regime, the transitional government dissolved the National Security and Intelligence Service NISS.

The GIS is supposed to focus on collecting and analyzing information instead of the all-security and repressive activities of the former agency.

Despite the regime change, the military component was keen to keep the majority of its personnel who are almost Islamist elements recruited and formed by the former regime.

The new GIS head was known for his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood organisation since high secondary school.

In May 2018, al-Bashir appointed him as the governor of South Kordofan state, and head of the state’s National Congress Party.

Graduated from Zagazig University Egypt in 1985- like many other Islamists at the time – he joined the Islamic Call Organization, which sent him to its offices in Uganda and Tanzania.

After the 1989 coup, he joined the NISS. Several years later, he became director of the Foreign Intelligence Department and after that the head of the Economics Department.

The last position allowed him to work with the Rapid Support Forces Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemetti) when they cooperate to combat human trafficking.