August 3, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
A Cloud Of Uncertainty Hangs Over 2016 Elections As NLF Convenes In Mogadishu
03 August 2016 – Source: Jowhar.com – 261 Words
The National Leadership Forum (NLF) consultative conference opens in the Somali capitalon Wednesday as the country’s top political stakeholders try to salvage the electoral process whose execution is way behind the set timelines. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to officially open the NLF talks at Villa Somalia today, in the wake of extensive face-to-face discussions between key electoral stakeholders in the course of the night.
During their consultative talks, the political leaders are expected to tackle key issues surrounding the country’s much anticipated electoral process, with a growing possibility of extending the electoral deadline by two months. This is coming up against growing international pressure for timely elections.
Jubaland President, Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madoobe) pointed out that the conference marks the last of several rounds of high profile discussions among the country’s top political leaders, adding that the meeting’s main agenda was to round up some outstanding issues that were dragging the electoral process. He however did not elaborate the issues in contention.
According to the 2016 electoral timetable, the parliamentary elections were due to kick off on20th August, followed by the presidential race in September 2016. However, given the strict timelines, the possibility to meet both deadlines is fading due to some outstanding issues that make the process untenable, including persistent arguments over the power sharing formula.
Ahmed Madoobe urged NLF members to demonstrate leadership acumen by finding a lasting solution to the current political stalemate, since Somalia’s future rests on their shoulders. The Federal Electoral Implementation Commission is expected to present its plans to the forum
Key Headlines
- A Cloud Of Uncertainty Hangs Over 2016 Elections As NLF Convenes In Mogadishu (Jowhar.com)
- Southwest State President Freezes Land Adjudication In State For 90 days (Goobjoog News)
- Unknown Warplanes Hit Al-Shabaab Base In Somali Village (Shabelle News)
- Al Shabaab Recruiting Youths By Force Says KDF Chief (The Standard Kenya)
- Uganda Deploys New Contingent Of Police Officers To Somalia (AMISOM)
- The Story Of Samia Omar The Olympic Runner Who Drowned In The Med (The Guardian UK)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Southwest State President Freezes Land Adjudication In State For 90 days
03 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 143 Words
The President of Southwest state, Shariif Hassan Sheikh Adan, has instructed the Minstry of Lands to put on hold filing and adjudication of land disputes for up to 90 days.
Adan said the move was aimed at putting to order land issues in the Southwest, which have spiraled over time, with the value of land in Mogadishu going up significantly. There have been numerous allegations of corruption regarding the disposition of land disputes with claims of fake title deeds finding their way into the official system of records.
The President’s decision could also be viewed as a corrective measure in order to put in place an effective system as he streamlines operations in his administration. Somalia is experiencing a construction boom and the value of land has significantly shot up. Local investors and those from abroad are accordingly struggling to get a piece, a situation that has led to the rise of speculators and land brokers.
Unknown Warplanes Hit Al-Shabaab Base In Somali Village
03 August – Source:Goobjoog News – 155 Words
Unidentified fighter jets have pounded a base run by Somalia’s Al-Shabaab fighters in the southern region of lower Juba. Local residents said on Wednesday that the missiles fired by the warplanes struck the fighters’ outpost in the Shimbirgalow village, near the strategic Kismayu port.“We heard several blasts on the outskirts of Shimbirgalow on Tuesday. We can’t confirm how many people died in the attacks,” said local resident Ibrahim Hassan. The Somali military confirmed that the airstrike had left casualties and caused damage to the base. US drones and warplanes have previously carried out similar airstrikes in border regions in Somalia.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Somali government in Mogadishu has been battling Al-Shabab for the past eight years and is propped up by 22,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al-Shabaab Recruiting Youths By Force, Says KDF Chief
03 August – Source: The Standard, Kenya – 341 Words
Al Shabaab is now forcibly recruiting youths at the Coast, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has said.Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe said the Somali-based Islamist group has lost its appeal to the youths and is now using force to recruit them.He, however, said that the country is still facing threats and urged parents and communities to remain vigilant.”Terror groups like Al Shaabab have changed their tactics of recruiting and training people. Apart from the normal process of radicalising the youth, the groups have now shifted to actually forcing the youths to join them,” said Mwathethe when he visited his rural home in Jila Ganze, Kwale County.
In May, an Islamist militant who surrendered to the government in Kwale after he renounced Al Shabaab in February this year was shot dead in Shamu village.Police said Subira Sudi.Mwangole, who surrendered to Kenyan authorities at Matuga School of Government, was executed by Al Shabaab agents, apparently for ditching the group last year.Three other people, including a village elder, were shot dead in Ukunda, Kwale County, in the same month by suspected Al Shabaab members.
Kwale County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka said Juma Mwanyota (village chair), Hassan Mwasanite and Mohammed Mwanguze were killed by Al Shabaab returnees in retaliatory attacks following recent police swoops in the area.Speaking in Kilifi over the weekend, Mwathethe said the Government is determined to hunt down Al Shabaab remnants and sympathisers in the country.”Kenya is one of the many countries in the world which are currently facing the challenge of terror attacks and it’s the responsibility of all Kenyans to be alert and expose suspects to the relevant security agencies,” he said.
Uganda Deploys New Contingent Of Police Officers To Somalia
03 August – Source: AMISOM- 401 Words
The Uganda Police Force has deployed a new contingent of officers to serve under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).The newly deployed personnel, from the Formed Police Unit (FPU), arrived yesterday and will be under the command of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Thomas Kamugisha.The contingent replaces another one that has completed one-year tour of duty. Uganda is one of the Police Contributing Countries under AMISOM, deploying Individual Police Officers (IPOs) and Formed Police personnel. Other police contributing countries are Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
A command handover ceremony took place at the Aden Abdulle International Airport, witnessed by senior Uganda Police commanders serving under AMISOM. SSP Kamugisha said, “My expectations as a contingent commander is to work hard and make sure that Somalia gets peace and development. I have come to give a hand with my group so that Somalia can gain its past glory.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Her sights still firmly fixed on competing at the summer Olympics, Omar boarded a flimsy, overcrowded boat in April 2012, hoping to arrive in Italy and find the training she so desired. It was a risky plan: she had no connections to professional coaches or teams in Europe and very few friends or family outside of Somalia,”
The Story Of Samia Omar, The Olympic Runner Who Drowned In The Med
03 August – Source: The Guardian – 984 Words
In 2008, a thin 17-year-old Somali athlete settled in to her starting block in lane two to prepare for the Olympic 200m dash.Flanked by women in Lycra outfits, Samia Yusuf Omar stood out in her long black leggings and oversized white t-shirt. On her feet she wore shoes recently donated by the Sudanese women’s track and field team.
At the gunshot, Omar immediately fell behind. The other runners crossed the finishing line several seconds ahead of her, but seeing just how hard she was running, the crowd rose to give Omar the loudest cheer of anyone in the heat.Charles Robinson, a journalist who watched the race, remembers: “I literally got goosebumps. They were just sort of pushing her.”
When Robinson interviewed Omar after the race the runner explained, embarrassed, that she would have preferred to be applauded for her performance instead of her effort. Seeing the quality of the other athletes in Beijing that year, she had become keenly aware of how few training resources were available to her back home.
On Friday, Somalia’s two newest Olympians will appear in the opening ceremony at the Rio games, continuing a 20-year tradition of sending competitors to The Games despite their country’s turbulent and often violent history. Omar will not be with them, but her story – one of triumph, determination and tragedy – has come to shape the country’s athletes, who have used her untimely death to fight for better protections and support.
When Omar and her team-mates began training for the new athletics season in 2009, they were no longer just facing poor training conditions. They now had to contend with the growing influence of the militant Islamist group, al-Shabaab, which which had come to control all but two key kilometres of the capital, Mogadishu.“Of the era of Al-Shabaab, it was the worst,” said Leila Samo, a former team-mate of Omar’s, who now plays handball for Somalia. “A girl could not run, could not even walk without wearing heavy robes.”
TOP TWEETS
@Daudoo:7 #Uganda judges hearing case against 18 UPDF soldiers accused of selling military supplies in #Somalia black market
@Rooble2009:Somalia Furious at Raila’s Call for Somaliland Independence http://www.the-star.co.ke/
@Abdi_AlSheikh:Somalia political leaders to meet amid poll delay fears – Garowe Online http://dlvr.it/Lxjggc #Somalia
@ICRC_Africa:Games behind bars, a morale booster for detainees in #Somalia: http://ow.ly/EbpA302S4NM
@UKinSomalia :Min Africa @Tobias_Ellwood visit reiterates UK commitment to supporting peaceful, prosperous + democratic#Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud meets UK Minister for Africa , Tobias Ellwood.
Photo: @UKinSomalia