February 6, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Presidential Candidates To Seek Public Endorsement In TV Debate Today
06 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 218 Words
Presidential candidates will today appear before the public through television debate to further press their cause for election after a three day presentation to a joint sitting of the Federal Parliament. Last week the scheduled public debate failed to take place after the opposition candidates boycotted the event for what they termed as bias in transmission and selection of members of the public who would participate.
Somalia’s bicameral parliament has approved the public debate to take place today, a move welcomed by Presidential Election Committee (PEC). According to the PEC, the 23 candidates will be divided into two groups by alphabetical order. The debate will be beamed live to all local TV stations and radios station, according to the parliament leadership. A select group of members of the public drawn from diverse backgrounds will attend the debate and will participate in questioning the candidates.
The venue for Somalia’s presidential election was moved from the police academy to inside the Mogadishu airport due to concerns about security and possible corruption raised by opposition candidates. Somalia’s newly inaugurated Federal Parliament comprising of 275 lower house seats and 54-member senate will vote for the President in a secret ballot. The country will hold its presidential election on Wednesday after months of delays in a tortuous process for the Horn of Africa nation.
Key Headlines
- Somali Presidential Candidates To Seek Public Endorsement In TV Debate Today (Goobjoog News)
- Business Slows In Mogadishu As Initial Road Closures Begin Ahead Of Official Lockdown (Goobjoog News)
- We’re In Mogadishu To Witness The Political Transition Set To Happen In The Coming Days Says Puntland President (Jowhar.com)
- CCTV Cameras Installed On Some Key Roads In Mogadishu (Jowhar.com)
- AMISOM Uganda Military Contingent Holds Free Medical Camp In Mogadishu (AMISOM)
- Discontent Not Religion Draws People To Al-Shabaab – Study ( The Star Kenya)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Business Slows In Mogadishu As Initial Road Closures Begin Ahead Of Official Lockdown
06 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 310 Words
Mogadishu residents are today forced to walk long distances thanks to the closure of a number of roads as the city prepares for an official lock-down this evening when major roads will be closed ahead of the presidential poll Wednesday. Mogadishu mayor Yusuf Jima’ale on Sunday announced that all major roads in the city will be closed starting this evening until the presidential election is concluded. The roads blocked include Maka al Mukarama, Sayidka, KM4 junction, Zoppe and the Airport Road, industrial road, Wadnaha, 30th road and more others. Hundreds of members of the public were seen walking to places of work in Mogadishu as public transport is largely out of service.
The closure of these roads has had its worst effect on students and workers going to schools and business that are miles away from their residents. Some of Mogadishu’s residents who spoke to Goobjoog News said the lockdown negatively affect business and lives of many people in the city. Mohamed Farah, a shopkeeper says he is unable to go to his shop located at Mogadishu’s main Market -Bakara because of the movement restrictions.
“Somali government is going to close all major roads in Mogadishu and will force us to stay home without having enough to support our families. I used to get my daily bread from that shop but I cannot open it till presidential election is concluded,” lamented Farah. Mursal Haji Elmi, a university student said the entire area around his university was closed, forcing him to stay indoors. “I cannot go to the university because the roads leading to it have been closed,” said Elmi. Over twenty candidates are running to become Somalia’s president who will then choose a prime minister. The outgoing president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is among dozens of candidates vying for the post of president, who will be elected by new lawmakers.
We’re In Mogadishu To Witness The Political Transition Set To Happen In The Coming Days, Says Puntland President
06 February – Source: Jowhar.com – 149 Words
A delegation led by the President of Puntland Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas has arrived in Mogadishu on Sundayevening three days before the presidential poll. Speaking to the press at Garowe airport, President Gaas said the purpose of his visit to Mogadishu was to witness the presidential election and the political transition taking place in the country in the coming days. “Puntland is an important part of the federal government and it’s imperative we witness this crucial transition, which has direct effort on us,” he said.He ruled out the speculations that he was traveling to campaign for some of his favored presidential candidates. Gaas becomes the fourth regional state president to arrive in Mogadishu with the leaders of Galmudug, Southwest and HirShabelle already in the capital. Some of the presidential candidates have accused the regional state leaders of interfering with the process lobbying for their preferred aspirants.
CCTV Cameras Installed On Some Key Roads In Mogadishu
06 February – Source: Jowhar.com – 120 Words
For the first time some of Mogadishu’s main streets are getting CCTV cameras in a bid to curb insecurity in the city. The development became the most discussed about issue of the day. CCTV poles were erected at KM4 junction, Dabka, Banadir, Zooppe roads and the project is aimed at fighting terrorism and organized crimes and comes barely days before the presidential poll on February 8.In the past, the capital saw other development projects such as installation of solar and traffic lights at some of key areas in the capital. However, some of them are no longer operation after becoming fault. It is not yet clear where the CCTV central command will be based and who will operate it.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Uganda Military Contingent Holds Free Medical Camp In Mogadishu
06 February – Source : AMISOM – 593 Words
Mogadishu, February 6 2017 – The Ugandan military contingent serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Sunday held a free medical camp at Medina Hospital in Mogadishu as part of activities to mark the Ugandan Army Week. Residents suffering from various ailments received free checkup, drugs and medical advice from military doctors who worked together with staff of Medina Hospital to treat the patients who turned out in large numbers.
February 6, also known as ‘Tarehe Sita,’ is celebrated annually as the day President Yoweri Museveni launched the armed struggle, in 1981, that brought the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government to power. This year’s ‘Tarehe Sita’ theme is; ‘the people and the security forces in a patriotic partnership.’The day is preceded by a week of activities referred to as the ‘Army Week,’ during which the Ugandan military carries out charity work in communities.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces also cleaned the hospital compound, repaired the leaking sewerage system that drains water from the hospital’s laundry section and fumigated breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Major Robert Kamara, the Spokesperson for the Ugandan Contingent, said the medical camp had given the troops an opportunity to treat those in need of urgent health care.“We are marking the defence forces week in Uganda, as a result, we who are not in Uganda, but in AMISOM, normally continue with the culture of keeping in touch with the people. We decided to come here at Medina Hospital first of all to handle the challenges the people go through,” said Major Kamara.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Al-Shabaab feeds off particular security fault lines, specific causes of popular discontent and the inevitable irritations and weaknesses that characterise living with internalised alienation and despair. The misreading of these feelings often contributes to the deepening of extremist positions that the local authorities and the international community are unable to understand.,”
Discontent, Not Religion, Draws People To Al-Shabaab – Study
06 February – Source: The Star, Kenya – 1135 Words
A new study of attitudes towards al Shabaab in Kenya has found no evidence that terrorist violence is directly driven by religion. Instead, Al-Shabaab – the Somali-based terror group that has wreaked deadly havoc in Kenya – exploits perceived historical, social and political grievances and draws on extreme interpretations of Islam to craft its propaganda narratives.
This conclusion is confirmed by several related studies on violent extremism in Africa and elsewhere in the world.The findings of the study in Kenya also showed that different situations throw up different reasons for why alienated people resort to violence. This is evident in the areas in which the field work was done. This ranged from the Majengo and Eastleigh areas of Nairobi, to Garissa in the east and Mombasa in the south. Each has concentrations of Somalis.
The study entailed a series of individual discussions, 200 focus groups and 30 in-depth interviews. The interviewees included community leaders, religious figures, ex-combatants, academics and members of civil society. Some were sympathetic to Al-Shabaab while others were strong opponents.
The goal was to assess attitudes towards Al-Shabaab. This was based on the premise that the success or otherwise of rebel groups is significantly dependent on community support. Thus efforts to counter them require the trust and participation of local communities.The findings indicate that there’s no single pathway to violent extremism, which is a complex psycho-social process. And mainstream Muslim and Christian leaders expressed the common view that Jihadist Islamic extremism is as far removed from mainstream Islam as the heretical neo-Calvinist support for apartheid was from mainstream Christianity.These leaders cautiously supported the use of force by the military and police against Al-Shabaab, its suspected sympathisers and other perpetrators of unrest. But they also insisted that without a change in social conditions and the involvement of people in government programmes the present conflict is likely to intensify.
TOP TWEETS
@UNFPA_SOMALIA: Committing to #endFGM with government & partners in #Somaliland as we commemorate the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM today
@Daudoo: BREAKING: #AlShabaab sharia court in #Jamametown publicly beheads 4 “spies” working for the #US, #Kenya &#Somalia Intel agencies – Witness
@HarunMaruf: El-Wak, Somalia. Town is in a unique situation: During day time govt troops control; at night Al-Shabab enter, visit families, shop around.
@SimonaFoltyn: “Some Americans don’t seem like they know anything about the world.” How Dabaab refugees cope w/#Muslimban #Somalia
@Moadow: 48 hour security lockdown of #Mogadishu to begin shortly. Venue of Presidential elections also moved to Airport to allay candidates’ fears
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Police Recruits march during a recent police graduation ceremony in Kismayo
Photo: AMISOM