Abdelwahab Ahmed Mohamed Hashem “Bob”

Background and Work

Abdelwahab Ahmed Mohamed Hashem, widely known as Bob, is a trade union leader from North Kordofan, a Sudanese region whose governance has been disputed and fractured by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. He serves as head of the Workers' Coordination Committee, an independent structure representing public sector employees established after the repeal of the 2010 Trade Unions Act. The Committee was formed to defend workers' rights in a climate where traditional union structures had been dismantled or co-opted.

Bob's advocacy has focused on labour rights, fair wages, and the political independence of union activity. In September 2025, he recorded an audio message for a private professional group in which he discussed the situation facing the trade union movement in North Kordofan. He affirmed the legitimacy of the Workers' Coordination Committee and raised alarm about the non-payment of salaries to public sector workers for sixteen months. He insisted that workers' rights and dignity must be respected and that demands for overdue wages should not be met with intimidation or political retaliation.

The Arrest and Enforced Disappearance

On 23 September 2025, officers from the SAF General Intelligence Service arrested Bob at his office in Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. Authorities did not inform his family or colleagues of his detention. For more than three weeks, his whereabouts remained unknown. His disappearance fits a wider pattern of enforced disappearances targeting trade union leaders and human rights defenders across Sudan since the escalation of armed conflict.

On 13 October 2025, information emerged that Bob had been transferred to Al-Obeid Central Prison. The following day, his son issued a public statement confirming the arrest and the period of enforced disappearance. At that point, Bob had been held incommunicado for more than three weeks without charge, without access to legal counsel, and without family visits.

Detention Conditions and Legal Status

Bob has been interrogated at least twice since his arrest, but no formal charges have been filed against him. His continued detention without charge violates both Sudanese law and international human rights standards. The prolonged incommunicado nature of his detention raises serious concerns about his health, his safety, and the risk of ill-treatment or torture while in custody.

As of late 2025, Bob remains in Al-Obeid Central Prison. He has been denied due process guarantees, including the right to be informed of any charges, the right to legal representation, and the right to communicate with his family. His detention appears to be punitive rather than judicial, linked directly to the circulation of his audio message about workers' rights and overdue salaries.

Context and Pattern of Repression

Bob's case is part of a broader campaign of repression against trade union leaders in Sudan. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, governance in many regions has been militarized and civic space has been systematically suppressed. Trade unionists, in particular, have faced harassment, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance for peaceful advocacy. The arrest of Bob and others reflects the authorities' intolerance of independent voices demanding accountability and economic justice during a time of acute crisis.

The militarization of governance in contested regions like North Kordofan has created an environment in which security forces operate with impunity. Workers advocating for unpaid wages or defending the independence of union structures are increasingly treated as security threats rather than as legitimate social actors. Bob's detention underscores the risks facing those who continue to advocate for labour rights in Sudan's current conflict.