Journalist Mahjoub Mohamed Salih Dies Aged 96

Journalist Mahjoub Mohamed Salih has died on Tuesday, 13 February 2024 in Cairo, Egypt at the age of 96.

Known as the dean of Sudanese journalists, Salih has many books, most notably The History of Sudanese Journalism in Half a Century, in addition to Highlights on the Southern Issue and many others. He has won many awards inside and outside Sudan. He was awarded the 2005 Golden Pen of Freedom. There was also the Mahjoub Mohamed Salih Prize on Sudanese Press by Sudan News Agency.

Born on 12 April 1928 in Khartoum, Salih received his education from Gordon Memorial Secondary College, now known as the University of Khartoum.

He began his journalistic career in 1949, and in 1953, along with journalists Bashir Muhammad Saeed and Mahjoub Osman, Salih founded Al Ayyam newspaper. He also wrote for English newspaper Sudan Times, in partnership with the South Sudanese writer and politician Bona Malwal.

In 1947, he joined the College of Arts, and in 1948, he was elected deputy secretary of the University College Student Union Committee, and he became secretary in 1949. For leading a student strike, Salih was expelled, along with his two late colleagues, Mustafa Al-Sayyid and Al-Taher Abdel Basset, from the college, according to Sudanese journalist and writer Siddiq Mohisi.

Salih was also a politician. He joined the Sudanese National Liberation Movement in 1946, through which he carried out his political activity against the British administration. The Sudanese National Liberation Movement then transformed into the anti-colonial front and then into the Sudanese Communist Party.

Many took to social media to mourn his loss, including the former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and politician Yassir Arman.

For more information, see Mahjoub Mohammed Salih’s Facebook page.