If this happens, it will be because of a controversial set of documents called the Khartoum Planning Project-05, or KPP-05. The first invitation to tender on the project was issued in 2005. But the details were shrouded in secrecy and the media did a poor job of reporting about what KPP-05 entails, in an extremely poor and inaccurate manner. So it’s only recently that people have started to understand what its consequences might be for the city.

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One of the biggest problems with the available planning documents is that they simply don’t define the terms used nor outline the implications. For example, a large segment of Khartoum is defined as an “investment zone” – but this is never explained. Is this land being sold off to private developers? Is this the expropriation of land from the current owners or users? Even the images that are used don’t explain much.

All of these documents have been released in fragments, via the media, rather than through a proper awareness campaign. There have been no proper consultation processes. This has undoubtedly led to the current flux of protest and anger. People are responding to rumours. They are reacting not to concrete information, but to a lack of information. And they are doing so peacefully. The students at the University of Khartoum chant the word “silmiya” – which means “peaceful” in Arabic – as they protest, to show that they do not endorse force.

Yet they are being met with violence. Some of the activists leading the protests have been detained without charge. At the time of writing, in early May 2016, one student had been in detention for nearly a month. A group of built environment professionals, who are graduates of the university, were also detained when they tried to hold a silent protest calling for the campus' heritage to be protected.