October 29, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Statement From President Farmaajo Wasn’t Communicated To Us Officially, Reacts CIC Spokesman
29 October – Source: Jowhar.com – 219 Words
Southwest Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Spokesman of the Council of Interstate Cooperation (CIC), Abdullahi Sheikh Hassan, has said the recent statement by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo’ inviting regional state leaders for a fresh round of consultative talks, was not communicated officially to them. The meeting is aimed at resolving current disagreements between the federal and regional states.
Abdullahi noted the communication wasn’t channelled to them in an official way, noting they only saw it on social media purporting to be from the Office of the President and the Ministry of Interior: “The purported statement from the state hasn’t reached us officially. We have an office and a system, through which to receive such communication,” said Abdullahi.
He observed that if indeed the said statement was released from the President’s office, it is an endeavour to subvert the efforts of the Upper House. The CIC Spokesman was speaking to one of the local radio stations in Mogadishu. Asked why they were not willing to come to Mogadishu for the consultations, he said whether or not the consultations would take place in Mogadishu, they were waiting for feedback from the Upper House. The regional states on September declined to participate in meetings organized or called by President Farmaajo citing his government’s insincerity in finding lasting solutions to their problem.
Key Headlines
- Statement From President Farmaajo Wasn’t Communicated To Us Officially Reacts CIC Spokesman (Jowhar.com)
- Puntland’s Army Chief To Run In Next Year’s Presidential Election (Hiiraan Online)Federal Parliamentarians Accuse President Farmaajo Of Meddling In The Southwest State Election (Radio Dalsan )
- Somali Medical Pioneer Continues Battle To Stop FGM (Voice of America)
- Kenyan Somalis Are Pawns In Al-Shabaab’s Reign Of Terror (The Start)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland’s Army Chief To Run In Next Year’s Presidential Election
29 October – Source: Hiiraan Online – 272 Words
Puntland’s army chief of staff said on Sunday he intends to run in the regional state presidential election which is scheduled for January next year. Declaring his candidature, Gen. Saeed Mohamed Hersi, widely known as Saeed Dhere, said he will run for the presidency “to save Puntland from political mayhem, communal violence and spread of violence”.
Referring to the incumbent Abdiweli Mohamed Ali “Gaas” as Puntland’s ‘enemy’, Gen. Hersi called for support by the region’s lawmakers to help him oust Abdiweli: “Having considered the current economic situation in Puntland, the security situation and communal violence, I realized there was great need for a leader who could unite the people in a fair and equitable manner,” said the influential and veteran commander of the region’s army known as Dervishes. He said his priority was to let the people of Puntland benefit from his 40 year experience in the army, as one of the founders of the Puntland state.
According to analysts, Gen. Hersi’s candidature could further challenge the incumbent’s chances of recapturing the presidency in Puntland. President Abdiweli has spent the last six months positioning himself to defend his seat in a race that is expected to attract over a dozen candidates. And just a few hours after Gen. Hersi declared his candidature in the forthcoming polls, President Abdiweli appointed his replacement.
In the meantime, presidential aspirants have started criss-crossing their respective constituencies across the region, wooing locals with promises of economic development and prosperity for Puntland, which is fighting two rebel groups, al-Shabab and the so-called Islamic state. The poll will be held early January next year.
Federal Parliamentarians Accuse President Farmaajo Of Meddling In The Southwest State Election
29 October – Source: Radio Dalsan – 192 Words
Federal Members of Parliament from Southwest state last night held a meeting in Mogadishu where they accused President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of interfering in the state’s planned elections. Up to 30 MPs accused the President of directly meddling in the state’s election, scheduled for 17th November 2018.
Mr Abdalla Hussein, who was among those who met in Mogadishu claimed the President had banned certain individuals from contesting the state’s election. It is also claimed the President has been supporting some chosen candidates by providing them with armoured vehicles and security guards. The MPs estimate the government has set aside a budget of US$ 2.8 million to support its preferred candidates.
“The public should know that this country’s top leadership is in the middle of a corruption scam. Government’s financial resources are now being used in the Southwest election,” said Abdalla. He added that if the meddling continues, MPs will review the President’s actions with a possibility of impeaching him. Meanwhile, Mr. Ibrahim Isaq Yarow accused President Farmajo of allegedly violating the country’s Constitution. The MP lamented at the President’s action of providing huge funds in support of his favourite candidate.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Medical Pioneer Continues Battle To Stop FGM
27 October – Source: Voice of America – 748 Words
When she was a young girl, Edna Adan Ismail’s mother and grandmother circumcised her in a traditional ceremony while her father, a doctor, was away. That evening, he returned home, enraged at what had happened. “What have you done?” he asked Ismail’s mother and grandmother. Cutting the young girl, he said, was “haraam” — a sin. She was only seven or eight, but Ismail knew what had happened was wrong. The event, and her father’s reaction, would have a lasting impact.
Years later, Ismail followed in her father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in medicine. She studied abroad and became a pioneer in health care in Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia. In 1965, the World Health Organization made Ismail the first Somali appointed to a senior civil servant position. She spent decades with the organization working in Somalia, Somaliland and Djibouti, and caring for patients from across the Horn of Africa, many of whom were refugees.
In 1976, Ismail attended a health conference in Sudan that changed her next steps. Ismail, then a director in Somaliland’s Ministry of Health, had traveled with a team of doctors to learn about developments in the field. At the conference, Ismail heard, for the first time, people in a Muslim country openly discuss the harm caused by female circumcision, also called female genital mutilation, or FGM.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“The proximity to Somalia also contributes to al Shabaab’s menace along the Kenyan border. The absence of a stable government in Somalia provides a safe haven where Al-Shabaab plan, strategise and attack Kenyan security personnel who are either on patrol along the border or are on a local humanitarian mission.”
Kenyan Somalis Are Pawns In Al-Shabaab’s Reign Of Terror
29 October – Source: The Star – 1067 Words
Terror group Al-Shabaab is a constant and present danger to the socio economic livelihood of Kenyans due to its frequent attacks in remote areas near Somalia. While it appears al Shabaab’s main targets in the borderland regions are security agencies and non-local Kenyans, such as teachers, nurses and mechanics, Kenyan Somalis also suffer as targets of recruitment, who are used as guides and foot soldiers. The attacks on security agencies and non-local Kenyans is double-pronged.
First, Al-Shabaab target the security agencies due to their frontline duties of safeguarding Kenya’s territorial integrity as well as protecting the lives of its citizens. The duty of securing Kenya’s borders interferes with Al-Shabaab’s free movement, strategies and other agendas. The attacks on non-local Kenyans drives a wedge and creates enmity between Kenyans of Somali origin against other Kenyans. The second reason is because the clan system in the Somali community protects ethnic Somalis from one another.
The non-locals are vulnerable to Al-Shabaab attacks due to the absence of clan-like local mechanisms in protecting them. Where ethnic Somalis are attacked, the clan is bound to seek retribution, either in form of blood-paying sacrifice (diya) or retaliatory measures. Despite these incessant attacks, Kenya has to a large extent been successful in thwarting and reducing continuous Al-Shabaab attacks in its urban cities and towns, but the same cannot be said of the rural and borderland areas.
In the borderlands, Al-Shabaab has become resilient and adept at changing tactics. Furthermore, it has taken advantage of the globally driven narrative and agenda to embed itself in the local socioeconomic and political issues to create continuous havoc and bloodletting in Kenya. It attracts and takes advantage of the disillusioned youth from the border communities, as well as from other major communities in Kenya.
In the border communities, many interlinked factors fuel and give impetus to the scourge of al Shabaab in both Kenya and Somalia. Prior to the 2010 constitution of Kenya, North Eastern Kenya carried the perception of marginalisation by past administrations. Since the 2010 constitution, the government of Kenya allocates substantial resources to the region, which has opened huge potential for development. The border communities got a chance to influence their growth agenda. However, devolution brought unparalleled and stiff political competition, which has led to conflicts that appear to be fuelled and funded by local political and business beneficiaries.
Additionally, the resource allocations and employment opportunities in the borderland counties are determined by the governor, the political allies and elders, which attracts the wrath and ire of those excluded from the devolution opportunities and promises. The repute and integrity of county governments is tainted where injustices are perceived or real. The disillusioned locals resonate with the idea of victimhood of the long-practised clan rivalries, with al Shabaab becoming the boogiemen. They become easy targets of al Shabaab for attacks on non-local Kenyans and security agencies.
Unemployed and lowly educated youth from these counties either become victim of forcible recruitment or are wooed by the boogieman, al Shabaab. The youth either form the brigandage or guides in the attacks because of their knowledge of the local terrain, routes and water points. Local clan rivalries for political seats, especially for the gubernatorial and National Assembly seats, mutate into serious clan warfare, where some outsource their fight to al Shabaab to annihilate the other.
TOP TWEETS
@issafrica: #ViewonAfrica this week | Internal bickering distracts from the #Somalia’s more urgent challenges.https://issafrica.org/events/
@UNSomalia: On a joint visit to #Kismayo today, the new @UNenvoy to #Somalia, Nicholas Haysom, and @_AfricanUnion’s@AmbFMadeira are meeting with #Jubbaland’s President Madobe to hear about local progress and challenges.
@Eye_on_Somalia: Kenyan Somalis are pawns in al Shabaab’s reign of terror http://dlvr.it/QpqgJS
@EFASOMSomalia: Today the Minister of Education H.E. Mr. Godah Barre thanked Global Partnership for Education and EU for their support to Education during the launching event of the GPE event.
@STNSomali: #Somalia president Mohamed Farmaajo has called regional state leaders to drop their tough stance against the federal government and give dialogue a chance amid a widening rift between the two levels of government.
@SMDCMedia: Police in #Somalia say they are hunting for the killers of radio journalist Abdullahi Mohamed Hashi on the outskirts of Mogadishu at the weekend. #PressFreedom#journalismisnotacrime
@STNSomali: The head of regional armed forces in #Somalia‘s semi-autonomous #Puntland state, Gen. Saeed Mohamed Hersi, has said he intends to run in the region’s January presidential election: local media.
@RadioErgo: #SOMALIA: Following #months of sleepless nights and huge investments, Abdukadir Mohamed Salad, the#owner of the first milk process #plant in #Mogadishu in 25 is now relishing his #success. 1/4
https://www.radioergo.org/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission Amb. Francisco Madeira accompanied by UN envoy in Somalia Nicholas Haysom, when they paid a visit to Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam today in Kismayo.
Photo: UNSOM