In June 2011, Haroun defeated Abdelaziz al-Hilu of the SPLA to become the governor of South Kordofan in an election rejected by the SPLA as rigged.
Hilu was AMF's production version of a boat variety more commonly found in designs hand built by outrigger aficionados.
Hilu earned a degree in dramatic writing at Tel Aviv University, studying under Israel’s leading playwrights, such as Yehoshua Sobol and Shmuel Hasfari.