February 1, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Outspoken 4.5 Critic Fadumo Dayib Axed From Integrity Committee Barely 72 Hours After Appointment
01 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 402 Words
Former Presidential candidate and outspoken activist Fadumo Dayib has been dropped from the Presidential Elections Integrity Committee barely 72 hours after her appointment alongside eight other eminent personalities was made public by House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari. Through a text message on Wednesday evening, Parliament Secretary General Abdikarim Haji Buh informed Dayib she was no longer a member of the committee following a review of the list. No more details were however provided regarding the rationale.
Fadumo, a critic of the electoral process under the clan based 4.5 system told Goobjoog News the decision to fire her was not strange but affirmed her fears the elections were grossly compromised. “This affirms my fears and that of the public that the elections are already compromised and will be rigged. I have been outspoken about this and I will not allow them to misuse power. They can’t buy me or make me shut up,” said Dayib. Parliament leadership has however remained tight lipped about the matter despite having appointed her and went ahead to order for air tickets to be sent to all the committee members residing outside the country including Dayib.
In a memo last Sunday, House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari announced the appointment of nine members to the PEIC with the objective of ‘providing Parliament, Presidential candidates and the public with an assurance that the process of electing the new president has been free and fair’. Among the functions of the Committee are to immediately identify any potential irregularities and or possible breaches of the Rules of Procedure and bring these to the attention of the Speakers (Lower House and Senate). Further, the Committee was tasked with preparing a final report for Parliament on the integrity of the electoral process.
Fadumo Dayib who dropped out of the presidential race has consistently voiced her disaffection with the electoral process including her comment during a presentation this past week at the London based think tank African Research Institute. She pointed to the 4.5 clan system as her main reason for pulling out the race adding the process ‘dehumanises some Somalis.’ She has variously lambasted President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration for ‘corruption and failed efforts to establish peace and stability in the country’. Mohamud is defending his seat in the February 8 poll. It is not clear if Parliament will replace Dayib or will opt to go with the 8 members for the Committee.
Key Headlines
- Outspoken 4.5 Critic Fadumo Dayib Axed From Integrity Committee Barely 72 Hours After Appointment (Goobjoog News)
- Presidential Candidates To Address Somali Parliament On 2nd 3rd and 5th February( Goobjoog News)
- Two Killed Several Injured In Al Shabaab Attack Near Hudur Town (Garowe Online)
- Security Forces Conduct Massive Operations In The Country’s South West (Garowe)
- Kenyans Among Shabaab Fighters Who Attacked KDF (The Star Kenya)
- Man 20 Pleads Guilty For Attempting To Sneak Into Somalia (Daily Nation)
- Building Peace Through Border Control In Puntland Somalia (Transconflict)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Presidential Candidates To Address Somali Parliament On 2nd, 3rd and 5th February
01 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 249 Words
The twenty four presidential candidates will address the new Parliament about their campaign’s agenda during the scheduled speeches which are set to run for three days. Between Feb, 2-5, the presidential candidates will address their campaign’s agenda before the Federal Parliament of both houses. Somalia’s presidential election committee (PEC) has allotted eight presidential candidates to articulate their speeches in front of Parliament each day within the three days.
The first batch of presidential hopefuls’ speeches will start on the 2nd of February as exercise will be ongoing till on 5th February, according to PEC. On Tuesday, the scheduled debate between the 24 Somali presidential candidates scheduled to run live on SNTV was cancelled due to a nationwide internet blackout. PEC will conclude its preparations between February, 6th and 7th ahead of the ballot vote the following day.A candidate will need the endorsement of at least 219 votes to win in the first round. If failed, a second round will be called with four of the candidates with the greatest number of votes in the first round taking part. The Upper House has 54 members while the Lower House is made up of 275 members.
The incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, his Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed are among some of the leading candidates duly cleared for the race. Others are former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, former ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur and former Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Ahmed Nor Tarsan.
Two Killed, Several Injured In Al Shabaab Attack Near Hudur Town
31 January – Source : Garowe Online – 156 Words
At least 2 Southwest state soldiers were killed, and several others wounded in a deadly assault on army base at Hudur town in southern Somalia. Tuesday’s attack occurred at Dhiil , a small area located about 20 kilometers west of Hudur town, the regional capital of Bakool region near Somalia’s border with Ethiopia. Local residents said Al Shabaab fighters have raided the military base manned by Southwest state forces, sparking a deadly gunfight between the two sides.
Col Abdi Barre, a senior Southwest state army commander said they repelled the attack, and inflicted losses on the militant side during the battle. He said Al Shabaab fighters shifted their insurgency into ambush attacks, after they were defeated in the ongoing joint military operations in southern and central Somalia. The Al Qaeda-linked terror group which aims to topple the UN-backed Federal government in Mogadishu and disrupt the upcoming election, still poses security threat in large areas in the country.
Security Forces Conduct Massive Operations In The Country’s South West
01 February – Source : Mareeg.com – 148 Words
Somali Security forces together with the African Union troops have launched a massive security operations in the Country’s South West regional state, after an increase in Al-Shabaab’s hit and run attacks in the district of Qansahdhere. Local residents told the media that the Security forces and AU troops were targeting residential houses to find out any Al-Shabaab suspects. The Operations has taken place in as well as the outskirts of the district. “This Operations have caused the closure of very important roads that have costed our daily livelihoods,” said a local resident. Security officials have not yet commented on the current Operations. But top leaders of regional administration pledged that they will be taking tough steps to beef up the security of the districts in their control. Al-shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked armed group, targets Officials, Soldiers and others believed to be working with the government and AU troops.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyans Among Shabaab Fighters Who Attacked KDF
01 February – Source: The Star, Kenya – 366 Words
Kenyan security agents have established that hundreds of Al-Shabaab fighters involved in the attack on the Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia were Kenyan youths recruited into the terror group.There is suspicion indigenous Somali fighters are using foreign fighters, especially Kenyans and Tanzanians, as their first-line-of-attack fighters. The Kenyan youths were part of the second wave of attack that accompanied the third explosive-laden vehicle that crashed across the fence after the first attack. Reports indicate more than 500 attackers participated. They attempted to overrun the Kulbiyow KDF camp that had at least 120 officers and soldiers that fateful night. Security agents are yet to release the number of Shabaab fighters killed during the attack, though KDF spokesperson Colonel Paul Njuguna said KDF suffered nine casualties two officers and seven servicemen.
Survivors of the Kulbiyow attack said the attackers arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning with two Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, which exploded at the gate. They were in the company of the first wave of attackers. Ill-trained youths from Somalia and new Kenyan recruits were pushed to attack.“The first attackers were not so well-trained. They accompanied the explosives-laden vehicles and communicated to each other in Kiswahili. The second wave had more mature fighters, some Arab-looking, while others spoke in Swahili too,” one of the survivors said yesterday.
Man, 20, Pleads Guilty For Attempting To Sneak Into Somalia
01 February- Source: Daily Nation – 259 Words
A 20-year-old man charged with attempting to sneak into Somalia has pleaded guilty before a Mandera law court.Mr Frankline Mutuma from Meru County, was arrested on January 21 at about 5:30pm along the Kenya-Somalia border.State counsel Kennedy Amwayi said the accused was arrested by police manning the borderline.Information at the court registry indicates police were granted 14 days to investigate Mr Mutuma and another suspect identified as Mohamed Ismael Abdullahi.
Police charged Mr Mutuma for failing to produce Mr Abdullahi who was said to be aiding in illegal exit.While presenting the facts, Mr Amwayi said the accused told the Anti-Terror Police (ATPU) that he was headed to Afmadow in Somalia for greener pastures.“During the interviews, it was established that the accused person is a Kenyan citizen from Meru County and was attempting to exit Kenya through an illegal point to Somalia,” said Mr Amwayi.
The state counsel told the court that the accused did not possess any valid travel documents that could warrant him to travel to Somalia.“He did not have any academic documents that could aid him in securing a white collar job in Somalia when he was arrested,” said Mr Amwayi.He argued that the accused was arrested at an area not gazetted as official exit or entry point
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“In response to escalating regional violence, the Puntland administration has tightened its borders and imposed a ban on trucks. Border control is beneficial to the economy, human rights and peacebuilding and offers insight into measures that will further tighten border security,”
Building Peace Through Border Control In Puntland, Somalia
01 February – Source: Transconflict- 532 Words
The semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia has been plagued by violence since the collapse of the country’s central government. Al-Shabaab militants have targeted government officials and civilians, using every conceivable means of attack. Car bombs struck the town of Galkayo as recently as 21 August, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.This violence has been facilitated by notoriously porous borders. Militant groups have skilfully used unmanaged borders to smuggle people, drugs, weapons and contraband. So in response to escalating violence in Puntland, the local administration has tightened its borders with neighbouring regions. This includes a ban on trucks, commonly used by al-Shabaab to house explosive devices.The pros and cons of tighter bordersMore rigorous border control is often seen as a necessary step towards security and peace, reducing illicit movement of goods, people and arms. Research from the Center for Immigration Studies suggests national security can be threatened where control is lacking.
Yet restrictions on the movement of goods and people can also impact legitimate trade, and groups such as Open Borders advocate that economic prosperity is best attained through less control.But how do the people of Puntland feel about the border restrictions? Reactions from locals are mixed. Many feel that the new policy will ruin trade with other regions in Somalia. Abdurahman Geedi, a local resident in Garowe, lamented the fact that border policy “will ruin the economy and restrict free migration of people.”
This is a position shared by many in the Puntland business community, whose trucks can no longer travel through the commercial city of Bosaso. Now goods must be loaded onto new trucks as they cross the border, incurring extra costs for businesses. Companies complain that the ban on trucks is too broad; that the connection between trucks and insecurity has not been proven by a proper security assessment.Those transporting food and livestock are also critical of the new policy. No customs facilities have food and water for livestock, and traders are concerned about animals being kept in customs for long hours. Furthermore, the slow process of offloading and loading has meant that foodstuffs have rotted in transit.
TOP TWEETS
@FursadFund: “What are the processes on how you recruit your employers?” a panel on employment process of private Sectors#GaroweJobFair #FursadoAbuur
@SomaliEmbKenya: Thursday Feb 2nd the International Court of Justice will will deliver its judgement on the #Somalia vs#Kenya Maritime Delimitation case.
@Daudoo: Somali MP, Dr Osman Mohammud Dufle, survives assassination attempt after bomb attack in #Mogadishu. Body Guards wounded – Reports #Somalia
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Good piece by Mohamed Shire on the recent CDRC ‘analysis’- Somali elections and the external interferences
http://addisstandard.com/
@wakiilorg: Somalia will have new President next week; security is a key challenge that he must address urgently.
@SomaliaNewsroom: Kenya Fails to Apply Lessons Learned from Last Al-Shabaab Mass Raid
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Youth participate in the 3rd phase of recruitment and training for Jubbaland State Police in the port city of Kismayo yesterday.
Photo: AMISOM