KHARTOUM, SUDAN — He's accused of torturing enemies, cozying up to Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and plotting to assassinate Egypt's president.
But presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie says his moderation and pragmatism won him his latest assignment: overseeing the Sudanese government's response to the conflict in Darfur.
"I was picked for this because I'm a mild person," said Nafie, maintaining a wary smile and unflappable demeanor throughout an 80-minute interview in his office here.
Mild isn't a word many others use to describe Nafie, the leader of the hard-line faction in the ruling National Congress Party.
"Nafie is viewed by many as one of the most influential and brutal security officials in Sudan," longtime Africa analyst Ted Dagne said.
Now, this son of a sesame farmer who got a doctorate in plant genetics at UC Riverside may hold the key not only to Darfur, but also to the future of Sudan's Islamist cadre, in which his power is seen as second only to President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir.
"He is first among equals in terms of policy decisions in the regime," said John Prendergast, an Africa advisor in the Clinton administration who now runs the anti-genocide Enough Project.
Asked about Nafie's growing influence, one Sudanese official said, "To say the truth, Nafie is now No. 1. He seems to be doing everything."
Nafie's ascent is all the more surprising because he lacks the usual traits that spell success in Sudan. He has no formal military training, though there are rumors of a stint in Iran. His Islamist credentials pale compared with other ideologues. As a politician, he's described as ham-fisted, unable to restrain a confrontational style that often alienates his audience.
This summer, when Nafie declared that Bashir was the best candidate for president "whether people like it or not," voters weren't sure whether that was an expression of confidence or a veiled threat.
Nafie, a former agriculture professor who was plucked to serve as head of intelligence and security from 1989 to 1995, has often played the "bad cop" in one of Africa's most powerful and long-lasting regimes.
"He was my interrogator," said Farouk Mohammed Ibrahim, a former University of Khartoum science professor and government critic who was arrested in 1989 and held in one of Sudan's notorious, secret "ghost houses" for 12 days.
