The First Birthday

By: Al-Obeid Ahmed Maraweh

January 26 is no ordinary date in Sudan’s history, a history rich with pivotal moments. In school curriculums, it is remembered as the date of the “Fall of Khartoum” or, if you prefer, the “Liberation of Khartoum.” On this day in 1885, soldiers of the Mahdist Revolution stormed the Republican Palace in Khartoum after a year-long siege, killed the British governor, General Charles Gordon, and ended a 63-year colonial rule (Egyptian, Turkish, and British).
On the same date, exactly one year ago, I joined a small group of journalists to launch Al-Muhaqeq (sister of Sudanhorizon), a news platform. At that time, Khartoum was “occupied,” with most of the city under siege by a militia backed by foreign international and regional forces seeking to dominate Sudan’s power and wealth. We resolved to contribute, in a practical way, to clarifying the nature of the war being waged by our army and our people. The war’s dynamics were unclear to many, and we chose this symbolic date to keep hope alive in our hearts that Khartoum would one day be free again—whether sooner or later.
And today, January 26, 2025, by the grace of God, what seemed distant has become a reality. The militia forces are retreating, and much of Khartoum State has expelled the militia, welcoming the heroes of our army and their allied forces—the General Intelligence Service, joint forces from the armed struggle movements, and volunteers of all kinds—with the reception of victors. The remaining militia elements face only three choices: surrender, flee, or meet their inevitable fate.
As our people celebrate their army’s victories, we at Al-Muhaqeq celebrate extinguishing our first candle. It’s hard to believe that a full year has passed. This anniversary comes with greater awareness of the challenges ahead and a stronger determination to face them together. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my colleagues: Idris, Talal, Mohammed Al-Mamoun, Ramadan, Abu Dujana, Mohammed Othman, and Azmi. To my female colleagues, Sabah, Nazek, Mariam, and Heba—thank you for your patience, perseverance, and commitment to this challenging and rewarding journey.
A special thanks to those who believed in the nobility of our journalistic project and supported it with their advice, guidance, and financial support. Without your support, our ideas could not have taken root and flourished.
Most of all, thank you to you—our readers—who found value in our content and deemed it worthy of your time and attention. Through your engagement, we’ve achieved a growing presence on platforms like Google and increased our readership month after month.
Above all, thanks be to God, who granted us the ability, patience, and resources to embark on this journey. We pray for continued blessings and strength to achieve our aspirations and move forward. As we wrote in our inaugural editorial one year ago: “Our goal is to claim a leading position among Sudanese electronic journalism platforms.”
Here’s to continuing that journey forward.