Sultana Khaya breaks her silence and denies any «split» with the Polisario

After a prolonged silence, Sultana Khaya has emerged to quell rumors of a «split» with the Polisario Front. Speaking from Alicante, Spain, where she has been living since her departure from the Sahara to Las Palmas in June 2022, Khaya released a video accusing Moroccan agents of fabricating her alleged «defection». She firmly reiterated her «loyalty» to the Front.

Recently, Sahrawis from the Tindouf camps have taken to social media to accuse her of abandoning the Polisario cause in favor of Morocco's stance on the Western Sahara issue.

It is clear that Sultana Khaya has distanced herself from the movement headed by Brahim Ghali. Notably, she was excluded from certain international meetings by the Front's leadership. Her absence from the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in Geneva from February 23 to March 31, is a case in point. Furthermore, she was not invited to the gatherings of the National Union of Sahrawi Women (NUSW) held in the Tindouf camps, Algiers, or Europe.

This marginalization of Khaya echoes the situation faced by Aminatou Haidar following the death of former Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz in 2016. Haidar's political and media presence has largely been sustained by her supporters in Spain.