Port Sudan — Head of the Sovereignty Council and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan swore in Dr Wahbi Mohammed Mukhtar as president of Sudan's Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the first appointment to the post in six years.

Mukhtar pledged to protect the Constitution and public freedoms, but legal experts immediately questioned the legitimacy of his appointment.

Lawyer Moez Hazrat told Radio Dabanga that El Burhan acted "illegally," bypassing the High Judicial Council, while Saleh Mahmoud called the move "unconstitutional," stressing it lacked public mandate.

Similar objections were also made following the appointment of Kamil El Tayeb Idris as Sudan's civilian Prime Minister.

Critics accused El Burhan and the Islamic Movement of seeking to shield former regime officials from accountability, particularly in cases linked to ousted president Omar Al-Bashir. Bashir's lawyer, meanwhile, said his client remains in detention despite the collapse of his trial after the outbreak of war in April 2023.

El Burhan has so far only appointed only the court's president, leaving its membership incomplete and limiting its powers.