By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
Kenya, 9 December 2025 - A former Janjaweed commander has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a landmark judgment that brings a measure of justice to survivors of atrocities committed in Darfur more than two decades ago.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, was convicted in October of a catalogue of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 2003 and 2004, at the height of the conflict. The ruling, delivered on Tuesday in The Hague, marks the ICC’s first-ever conviction linked to the Darfur crisis — a conflict that killed an estimated 300,000 people and forced 2.5 million from their homes.
A Brutal Past Uncovered in Court
Now aged 76, Abd al-Rahman was found guilty on 31 counts, including murder, torture, rape, persecution, attacks against civilians, and the forcible transfer of communities. Judges said he “actively participated” in violent assaults on villages during the Kodoom and Bindisi operations and issued orders that resulted in the killing of civilians. Some survivors described him executing “a campaign of extermination, humiliation and displacement”, while prosecutors highlighted chilling accounts of victims being beaten with an axe.
The former militia leader insisted throughout the trial that he was not the man prosecutors claimed him to be, denying that he held any senior role within the Janjaweed. Judges rejected those arguments unanimously. Prosecutors had argued for a life sentence, calling Abd al-Rahman “literally an axe murderer”, while his defence urged the court to impose just seven years.
The chamber settled on a 20-year term, citing his age, good conduct during detention, and voluntary surrender in 2020, though these mitigating factors were given “limited weight”. Time already served since his surrender on 9 June 2020 will count towards the sentence.
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Justice Amid Renewed Violence in Darfur
Abd al-Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in early 2020 after Sudan’s transitional leaders signalled a willingness to cooperate with the ICC. He later said he surrendered because he was “desperate” and feared being killed by local authorities.
His conviction comes at a moment when Darfur is once again engulfed in violence. Since the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023, millions have been displaced, entire towns emptied, and famine fears intensified. The RSF, which emerged from the Janjaweed networks that Abd al-Rahman once served, seized full control of Darfur in November and is advancing eastwards into central Sudan.
For many Sudanese who have watched their region suffer cycles of destruction, the ruling represents a rare moment of accountability — a reminder that even in a time of renewed conflict, the pursuit of justice continues.
