January 31, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Presidential Candidates Lodge A Complaint Against One Of The Electoral Committee Members
30 January – Source: Horseed Media – 120 Words
A section of Somalia’s presidential aspirants have reportedly lodged a complaint against senator Abdullahi Sheikh Ismael (Fartaag) to the two speakers of the federal parliament for publicly supporting the incumbent president. The candidates want him to resign from the electoral committee saying he was no longer neutral and as a result couldn’t remain part of the team overseeing the final and crucial phase of the electoral process. Fartaag, a former Deputy President of Jubbaland Administration, disclosed his endorsement for the incumbent president’s bid to get re-elected at a dinner event hosted by Hassan Sheikh’s campaign team attended by members of the Lower and Upper Houses. The presidential candidates stated it is unacceptable for the electoral commission members to publicly take part in presidential campaigns.
Key Headlines
- Presidential Candidates Lodge A Complaint Against One Of The Electoral Committee Members (Horseed Media)
- Puntland President Launches Road Project Between Qardho Bayla (Garowe Online)
- Farmajo Urges Regional State Presidents To Remain Neutral In The Election (Jowhar.com)
- Drought Response Committee Receives $91835 From Arab League (Jowhar.com)
- AMISOM Police Launches Third Phase Of Police Recruitment Training In Jubaland (AMISOM)
- Somalia’s Law Courts Receive Praise For Prescribing Tough Penalties For Gender Based Violence As Youth Engage In The Preventative Measures (AMISOM)
- To Get Story Somali Journalists Risk Bullets and Bombs (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Launches Road Project Between Qardho, Bayla
31 January – Source : Garowe Online – 220 Words
The President of semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Abdiwali Mohamed Ali has launched a road project connecting Qardho town to Bayla district in Karkar region. The new road is estimated to be 220 kilometers long and will be constructed through the partnership of Puntland government and the public. In the launching event, President Ali noted the new project will take part in the efforts to develop the infrastructure of the region, which will facilitate movement of communities, goods and services between the areas. President Ali also added that Bayla district is a historic town and rich in natural resources. On the other hand, President Ali has also cut the ribbon of the water well project in Dhudub village. The new water well is powered by solar panel and was constructed by Puntland State Agency for Water, Energy and Natural Resources (PASWEN).
However, the delegation is expected to return back to Garowe, the capital of Puntland state, following trip to drought-stricken districts and remote villages in eastern regions. The extreme climate condition has affected thousands of nomadic communities in Somalia and forced many to relocate to Karkar region in search for water and pasture following low rains in December 2016. So far Puntland government is yet to woo support from international organizations to help drought victims in the region amid severe economical downfall.
Farmajo Urges Regional State Presidents To Remain Neutral In The Election
30 January – Source: Jowhar.com – 110 Words
Presidential candidate Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo accused some of the country’s regional administrations presidents of not being neutral in the presidential elections that is set to take place in Mogadishu next week. Farmajo said some of the regional states presidents are actively involved in President Hassan’s campaign to get re-elected.
“Regional states leaders should be neutral in the upcoming presidential election, and focus on addressing the pressing issues facing the regions they administer,” said Farmajo. His remarks come a day president Hassan’s team hosted a dinner in support of his campaign, that was attended by some regional administrations leaders including Galmudug president Abdikarin Hussein Guled and HirShabelle Vice President Ali Gudlawe.
Drought Response Committee Receives $91,835 From Arab League
30 January – Source: Jowhar.com – 94 Words
Somalia’s drought response committee has received $91,835 from the Arab League to tackle the drought crisis in parts of the country. Arab League Envoy to Somalia Mohamed Abdalla Idris handed over the donation to Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Omar Arteh following a lengthy meeting between the two officials in the capital Mogadishu. “We appreciate our Arab brethrens for their timely assistance. They became the first responders of our call to the world,” Arteh said. He promised the donation will directly go to the drought victims, ruling out speculations that it will be mismanaged.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Police Launches Third Phase Of Police Recruitment Training In Jubbaland
31 January- Source: AMISOM – 351 Words
The third phase of training for 201 Jubbaland State Police recruits commenced yesterday in the port city of Kismayo.The three-month training is being conducted by the Police Component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali Police. The first and second phases of the training programme were concluded last year.
The AMISOM Police team Leader for Training and Development, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Emmanuel Ogom Nwaeyizie, said 400 police officers graduated in the first two phases and were deployed to various stations in Jubbaland.“The 201 recruits will be going through the recruitment course that is commencing today and will last three months. We had very successful training in the first and second phases. I believe by the time this group passes out, we will have a professional and well-trained Somali Police Force that will take charge of the region,” said DSP Nwaeyizie.
Colonel Hassan Gabose Affey, the Jubbaland Police Training Commander, thanked AMISOM for its role in training police recruits in Jubbaland, saying the programme had played a major role in boosting security and enforcing law and order in Jubbaland.“We are gathered here to witness the commencement of the third phase of the Jubbaland Police new recruits training in collaboration with AMISOM Police. We are grateful to AMISOM Police and we are hopeful that the completion of the training will be a success to Somali people and also improve the image of AMISOM,” said Col. Affey.
Somalia’s Law Courts Receive Praise For Prescribing Tough Penalties For Gender Based Violence, As Youth Engage In The Preventative Measures
31 January – Source: AMISOM – 321 Words
A recent landmark ruling by a special court in Galdogob, in Somalia’s Puntland state, in which five men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to ten years, for gang raping a teenage girl and badly beating up another, is a precedent setting ruling that many Somalis hope will deter more cases of sexual violence in the country. The convictions have brought hope to a country with widespread cases of sexual violence, mostly targeted at young girls and women, majority of which are never documented.In the capital city Mogadishu on Monday, the Galdogob conviction was the highlight of a brainstorm, at a workshop on the prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV).“We are disturbed by the misfortune that befell the girls, the rape ordeal and video that went viral on social media. We are not ready to see a repeat of such an incident,”Fartun Ahmed Omar, the Chairperson of the Somali Women’s Encouragement Centre, that provides life skills to young girls, said.
Fartun hopes to share learnings from the workshop with 190 girls at her center, based in the capital.Forty-five youths drawn from various districts of Banaadir region, attended the two day sensitization workshop organized by IFRAH Foundation and supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and whose aim was to empower young people to speak out against such forms of violence.“We don’t know where to seek help when incidents occur, but we are learning in this workshop how and where to get help from,” Fardowsa Hussein Ali, a youth participant said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which has documented journalists’ deaths worldwide, 62 have been killed in Somalia since 1992. In some cases, Al-Shabaab has murdered journalists for what the group considered unfriendly reporting, or for alleged collaboration with the government,”
To Get Story, Somali Journalists Risk Bullets and Bombs
31 January – Source: VOA – 978 Words
On Wednesday, January 25, events in Mogadishu showed again why the Somali capital might be the most dangerous city in the world for journalists.Reporters had rushed to the Dayah Hotel after al-Shabab militants detonated a truck bomb at the hotel’s main gate and then stormed the premises, exchanging gunfire with security guards. The entire façade of the five-story hotel had been ripped away, and bodies littered the street.
The reporters were interviewing rescue workers and surveying the damage when a second vehicle bomb went off, 15 minutes after the first. Seven journalists suffered shrapnel wounds. One, a reporter for French news agency AFP, was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and remained there as of Monday.Sustaining injuries during explosions and attacks by al-Shabab is a common experience for journalists working in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab, which is attempting to overthrow Somalia’s federal government, regularly attacks the capital’s hotels, which are gathering spots for officials, parliamentarians and government-connected business people.
Most of the reporters are freelancers, with no security to protect them and no health benefits if they are injured on the job.Feisal Omar, a photographer for the Reuters news agency, says journalists charge into a dangerous situation anyway.“When things happen, freelance journalists are the first to arrive at the scene only with cameras. The place we are arriving at is very hostile, explosions can target us, we can be caught in the crossfire, and we can be arrested by government security agencies because of the pictures we shot,” Omar said. “We are like first responding unarmed soldiers.”
In 2011, Omar was one of three Reuters photographers who won awards at the 54th annual World Press Photo contest. Two years later, in November 2013, he was injured in an explosion at Mogadishu’s Sahafi hotel.Six of the journalists injured Wednesday were working on freelance contracts with major news agencies and television networks , among them AFP, the Associated Press, Al-Arabia and Al Jazeera television.One of them was photojournalist Farah Abdi Warsame of AP. He took second prize in the General News Stories category of the 2010 World Press Photo contest. His photo showed a young man being stoned to death by Somalia’s al-Shabab militants.
TOP TWEETS
@DalsanFM: BREAKING: Somalia’s First Presidential Debate scheduled for Tuesday morning postponed to afternoon as internet services stall in #Mogadishu.
@AbdihakimAinte: This is huge news: The 1st presidential debate failed to hold as reports of internet being deliberately shut-down and candidates walk out
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: What ‘objective criteria’ or qualifications were used to select 9 to election integrity commissionhttp://ow.ly/u1Hc308uxch
@HarunMaruf: Kenya’s Ministry of defense denied that #KDFsoldiers lost control of the military camp to Al-Shabab and claimed killing 70 militants.
@JobFair_: Here’s the story of one of the lucky applicants from the Mogadishu job fair. Visit http://jobfair.so/ to join the#GaroweJobFair.
@Goobjoognews: #BREAKING: Opposition presidential candidates in #Somalia boycott Presidential Debate set for this evening
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Former Female Presidential candidate, Fatuma Dayib in conversation with youth activists in London.
Photo: Anti Tribalism Movement (ATM)