December 1, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Electoral Process Begins In Somalia’s Capital Mogadishu As Banaadir Region Elects Its First Mps

30 November – Source: AMISOM – 351 Words

Delegates in the Somali capital cast their ballots Wednesday in the final stage of voting for representatives of the country’s Lower House.The voting in Mogadishu was carried out amid tight security provided by Somali security forces and AMISOM Police. The city will host elections for seats allocated to the Banaadir region and Somaliland, as well as presidential elections after Lower House elections are complete. Two MPs-elect, Mahad Abdalla Awil, from the Diir Surre clan and a former deputy speaker of parliament, Khalid Maow Abdulkadir from the Banaadiri clan, emerged victorious in the balloting exercise. Awil defeated two opponents, getting 50 of the 51 votes cast. His closest opponent Hassan Mohamed Noor got only one vote. “I am honoured to be elected again,” Awil said shortly after being declared winner.

Abdulkadir won his seat by a small margin, getting 29 votes against his opponent Sharif Mohamed Sidi’s 21 votes. “This is the first step towards democracy. The journey may be long but the solution should be from the Somali people,” Abdulkadir said, in his victory speech. “I want to raise the awareness of my people. They should know that security is paramount. I want to foster peace and reconciliation so as to have unity,” he added. The day’s proceedings were observed by the electoral oversight team led by their chairman Omar Mohamed Abdulle, who was joined by Mayor of Mogadishu, Sheikh Yusuf Hussein Jimale. “It is a historic day. It is a significant day because we began the electoral process in July and now we are in the conclusion stages, having held the exercise in the regions,” Abdulle told journalists.

Both Somali security forces and AMISOM Police reported no incidents during the exercise. “We have not experienced any security threat,” AMISOM Police Acting Operations Coordinator Emmanuel Mukama stated. “We have prepared ourselves and we have trained professionals to secure the area to ensure that no one disrupts the process,” Captain Mohamed Ali of the Somali Police Special Forces said. Five seats still remain to be filled in the Banaadir region in voting expected to continue for the rest of the week.

Key Headlines

Electoral Process Begins In Somalia’s Capital Mogadishu As Banaadir Region Elects Its First Mps (AMISOM)
Somalia To Reopen Border Controls After 25 Years (Radio Dalsan)
Panamanian Vessel Pays $65000 Fine To Somalia For Illegal Fishing (Goobjoog News)
Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Spying For Al-Shabaab (Shabelle News)
Insurgents Behead Somali Village Elders Over Islamic Tax (Reuters)
I Will Build A Better Somalia Says Presidential Candidate Said Abdullahi Mohammed (Standard Media-Kenya)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia To Reopen Border Controls After 25 Years

30 November – Source: Radio Dalsan – 167 Words

Somalia’s head of Immigration Mohamed Aden Kofi announced that the country will re-open border posts 25 years after the civil war erupted. Speaking at the opening of a training for immigration officers in Mogadishu. Kofi pointed out that the border posts with the neighbouring countries of Kenya and Ethiopia would be high priority for now. “We will first focus on reopening our border posts with Ethiopia and Kenya” he said. Somalia nationals will now have to go through a passport and ID control before crossing over into Kenya or Ethiopia. Top immigration officials toured the posts to assess what is on the ground a month ago ahead of their reopening. At least 40 immigration officers will undergo capacity building training that opened today in the capital. Somalia shares border with three countries namely Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The border posts have remained non operational since the fall of the Siad Barre government. Djibouti border control however have been operational but under the control of breakaway Somaliland region.

Panamanian Vessel Pays $65,000 Fine To Somalia For Illegal Fishing

30 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 512 Words

A foreign vessel which was arrested in Mogadishu October for fishing illegally in the country’s waters has paid a $65,000 fine to the Federal Government of Somalia. The United States embassy said in a statement Wednesday the vessel from Panama had delivered the amount to the government following an inspection jointly by Somali and Kenyan authorities and subsequent determination of the fines. “The owners of the Belize-registered, Panamanian-vessel were fined for illegal and unreported fishing in Somali waters and have paid an amount of $65,000 directly to the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). The vessel is currently mooring in the Mombasa port and was detained in Mombasa until payment of the fine,” a statement from the US embassy said. The vessel was detained in October this year in Mogadishu with an estimated 30 tons frozen fish but illegally departed the Somali waters and attempted to enter the Port of Mombasa where it was detained by Kenyan authorities upon intelligence from Somalia. Following an inspection by the Federal Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources with the support by the international illegal fishing inspector FISH-i Africa, the vessel was found to be in possession of forged authorizations and licenses to operate in Somali waters and fishing within the 24 nautical miles of the coastline. The vessel was also found guilty of not providing its catch reports and using banned fishing gear.

Somalia’s Fisheries Law 2014 prohibits foreign fishing vessels within the 24 nautical miles within its coastline to avoid encroaching on local fisherman. The law also prohibits the practice of bottom trawling. US ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz said the successful inspection and payment of the fine was a remarkable step in stopping illegal fishing in Somali waters and that it demonstrated the significance of inter-government cooperation. “The United States Government congratulates the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) in their efforts to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Somalia. The recent inspection of the Greko 1, and subsequent payment of the fine,” the envoy said, “Demonstrates to the international fishing community that Somalia is committed to protecting its natural resources.”

The strong coordination between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Kenyan authorities represents the pinnacle in international collaboration necessary to combat illegal activities, Schwartz noted. He also hailed efforts by Somalia’s Fisheries deputy minister Said Juma for ‘ensuring transparent and speedy resolution to this affair through the personal contacts he had developed through the Fish-i-Africa network’. A report by the US based Secure Fisheries estimated in a report last year the annual catch by foreign vessels was 132, 000 metric tons while Somali artisanal catch was just 40,000 metric tons a year. This development, observers noted was a threat to the resurgence of piracy in the Indian Ocean waters which is currently at its all-time low. FISH-i Africa approved Somalia’s application to membership early this year and its full membership is expected in the coming months. FISH-i Africa is group of African nations working to end illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the western Indian Ocean.

Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Spying For Al-Shabaab

30 November – Source: Shabelle News – 179 Words

A man was arrested on Monday night at Khorof Kharar in Wajir on suspicion that he was providing information to Al-Shabaab. Wajir East OCPD Anthony Mbogo said Kuna Mohamed Dahir had a Kenyan identity card and was arrested on his way to Somalia on a boda boda. “There has been suspicion that information on the movements and activities of the Kenyan security forces were being leaked to the militants. Investigations pointed to the suspect as he has been crossing to Somalia frequently,” he said. The suspect was also found with a document dated June 19, 2013, which showed that he had served as a police officer in charge of Owsqurun in Elwak division in Somalia. The letter indicated that Mr Dahir had been appointed to the position by a Somali army major-general in charge of Elwak division. Mr Mbogo, however, said the Somali government had already confirmed that he did not serve in any security forces.
The OCPD further said the name on his identity card was different from the one in the documents and might be a forgery.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Insurgents Behead Somali Village Elders Over Islamic Tax

30 November – Source: Reuters – 414 Words

Islamist militants have beheaded eight Somali village elders and killed at least seven other people during fighting spurred by a dispute over payment of an Islamic tax, a villager and a local official said on Wednesday. Villagers in the semi-autonomous region of Galmadug in central Somalia also killed 10 militants during three days of fighting, the villager said, adding that Somali authorities had provided no help or support. The Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab is battling a weak, but internationally supported government in Mogadishu in an effort to impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law in areas of the country it controls. “Al Shabaab ordered us to pay dozens of animals for zakat (Islamic tax) and we rejected this – that is how the fighting started. We killed 10 militants on the first day,” local elder Nur Abdullahi told Reuters. “So al Shabaab came from every region and fiercely attacked us in five villages. They beheaded eight elders and shot dead seven others on Monday and Tuesday.” “They cut off the phones. We ran out of bullets, food and water. We have fled into the jungle and neither (forces from) Galmudug nor the federal government is helping us. They (the militants) took our borehole machine, a herd of camel and burnt two of our villages,” he said.

OPINION , CULTURE & ANALYSIS

“Ensuring national cohesion, forgiveness and healing, building a secure and stable Somalia were some of the issues that came to fore at the launch as most of the speakers emphasised the need for leaders to cultivate a cohesive and peaceful society.”

I Will Build A Better Somalia, Says Presidential Candidate Said Abdullahi Mohammed

30 November – Source: Standard Media – 524 Words

Even as presidential elections in the Federal Republic of Somalia were postponed for the third time, one of the candidates has launched his policy paper in Nairobi. The event, bringing together select Nairobi based members of the diplomatic corps, the business community with interest in Somalia, local politicians and representatives of the Kenyan Somali community was also a forum to look at where Somalia as a country has come from and where it is headed. Ensuring national cohesion, forgiveness and healing, building a secure and stable Somalia were some of the issues that came to fore at the launch as most of the speakers emphasised the need for leaders to cultivate a cohesive and peaceful society. Addressing the gathering Mr Said Abdullahi Mohammed, a former Minister, who is battling his boss at the election, said his experience as Minister for Planning and International cooperation and also as a Member of Parliament has prepared him to improve the lives of the people of Somalia. Mr. Mohammed commonly known as Deni is an experienced civil servant who has worked and held senior positions in various capacities, including diplomatic postings, who seeks to ensure cohesion amongst the warring clans in the war torn country. His campaigners describe him as a Member of Parliament and Minister for International Cooperation who played a crucial role in brokering peace in Somalia and advocating for unity, reconciliation and national integration.