Senussi with the late Muammar Gaddafi              Photo courtesy

The arrest of Former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi’s spy chief, Brig. Gen Abdulla Senussi, has caused much controversy in Tripoli and all over the world. This will likely open a Pandora’s Box amongst those he served with. Many analysts wonder why Libya’s new regime is seeking the extradition of Senussi with urgency than that of Saad Gaddafi in Niger.

According to BBC reports, Senussi was arrested in Nouakhchott (Mauritania) en-route from Morocco on a fake passport. After his apprehension, the new regime in Tripoli quickly asked Mauritania to hand Senussi over to Tripoli.

Senussi  is wanted by the International Criminal Court to answer charges on various crimes against humanity allegedly  committed under Gaddafi’s 42 years rule. “Senussi is Gaddafi's black box, he has a lot of information," Tripoli resident Mustafa Jhyma was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Senussi is also wanted in France where he faces charges involving money laundering, embezzling public funds and misuse of power for personal gains. This is according to Interpol report quoted by BBC recently. Interpol has already issued a ‘red notice.’ France also wants to put him behind bars for his alleged involvement in the attack against a French plane that killed 170 people in 1989. What is not clear is why French authorities waited till the fall of Gadaffi to ask Interpol to make a move.

Those in the know say that if Senussi is not returned or handed over to Tripoli, chances are; he is going to be finished before spilling the beans to the extent that the heads for the current regime will find themselves in hot soup.

Senussi has many secrets of the former regime as a spy Tzar and Gaddafi’s consgliore. This creates a lot of pressure on and fear for those who served in Gaddafi’s rule but are currently serving in the National Transition Council (NTC).

One of them is the head of NTC, Mustapha Abdul Jalil who then was the minister for Justice. In other words, The first person who would like to see Senussi handed over to NTC or killed is Mustapha Abdul Jalil, head of NTC, and former minister for Justice. Abdul Jalil wants Senussi dead or alive in order to make sure that his dirty-- past, currently unknown-- is concealed and sealed with the death or detention of Senussi. This is obvious given that Abdul Jalil as minister of justice may have given a nod to Gaddafi’s injustices or crimes against humanity.

Tripoli’s new regime also wants Senussi  to unlock the whereabouts of  the massive investment Gaddafi made all over the world. The new regime worries that, if Senussi is left in unsafe hands, he can use his financial muscle to make a deal and get away with it.

Now that Senussi is under arrest in Mauritania, will he be handed over? If not, will he make a deal and get away with it? Will he be handed over to ICC where he is likely to spill beans and therefore endanger the lives of current NTC tops? If he is handed over to ICC even though this is impossible due to the fact that Mauritania is not a signatory to Rome Statue, will he keep mum and die alone? Will he use this opportunity to toast his enemies? Will he be handed over to NTC so as to be neutralized and die with his top secrets?  The answers to those questions depends on what will decided upon regarding the plight of Senussi which in essence is the plight of most of  NTC’s top brass. Will Senussi be eliminated without spilling the beans or otherwise?

By the way, do our current Senussi-like figures scoop any reasonable lesson from such kind of goings-on?

By Nkwazi Mhango

The author is a Canada based Tanzanian and author of Saa ya Ukombozi.