January 29, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
President Farmaajo: 2018 To Be The Year Africa To Succeed Against Corruption
29 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 224 Words
Somali Federal President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo yesterday stated at the AU 30th session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that “the year 2018 is the time when Africa has to triumph against eradicating corruption in the continent.” In his speech address to the heads of African countries who gathered in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the African Union (AU), President Farmaajo pointed out how “the continent is rich in resources, while its people are languishing in severe poverty due to massive rampant corruption.”
Other key notes in his speech included, commending the African vision for the year 2063, which will boost connection between African countries in terms of economy and development. He also informed the distinguished attendants that his government has given imperative priority attention to fight corruption, strengthen government financial and civil servants capacity. In the same breath, President Farmaajo underscored the need for his government to give similar consideration to regaining peace, economic development, extending civil services to the public and good governance.
In the same venue, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda yesterday officially assumed the position of African Union Chairperson, taking over from Guinea’s President Alpha Conde at the 30th AU Summit underway for its second day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This will be President Kagame’s second major responsibility at the AU, as he is also spearheading and supervising the body’s reforms process.
Key Headlines
- President Farmaajo: 2018 To Be The Year Africa To Succeed Against Corruption (Goobjoog News)
- Multinational Team Of Newly Deployed AU Police Officers Conclude Induction Training (SONNA)
- Somaliland Arrests “Somali Unity” Activist Qorane (Radio Dalsan)
- Uhuru Calls For More Support For AMISOM (Standard Media)
- Somalia: Thousands Homeless After ‘Forced Evictions’ (Anadolu Agency)
- Who Is Responsible For Ending Sexual Violence In Somalia? (Global Voices)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Multinational Team Of Newly Deployed AU Police Officers Conclude Induction Training
28 January – Source: SONNA – 268 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has concluded the induction of a multinational team of newly deployed police officers to Somalia, from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. Forty officers underwent a week long induction training, an integral part of Somalia’s transition process. The group will be at the forefront of mentoring and training local police forces in the management of law and order, as the country rebuilds its security institutions. “Some of you will be going to police stations; mentoring and you will work directly with the operations coordinator.
Others will be in training and you will work under the training coordinator. Others will be under the office of Chief of Staff to ensure you handle the issues to do with the support of AMISOM Police. Others will be in reform and restructuring, to help reform and restructure both the federal and the state police,” Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner CP Christine Alalo, told the officers at the end of their induction.
The police officers will be deployed at different police stations Mogadishu and in the federal member states, where AMISOM is based. “At the team sites, where you will be and at the police stations where you will be, we want to see good work. We shall be at your disposal for support,” Alalo said. Rex Dundun, the Chief of Staff of AMISOM Police urged the police officers to execute AMISOM’s mandate with diligence and commitment to duty. “It’s not enough for you to have skills or knowledge for you to perform. You must be very dedicated and you must be committed,” he noted.
Somaliland Arrests “Somali Unity” Activist Qorane
29 January – Source: Radio Dalsan – 204 Words
Somaliland authorities on Monday arrested activist and poet Ms. Naima Abwaan Qorane upon her arrival at the Egal International Airport Hargeisa, Radio Dalsan reports. Reporters in Hargeisa said, that Qorane was whisked away by security agents at the airport after landing from Mogadishu. Ms. Qorane through her poetry has been a vocal advocate of “Somali Unity” and “The Greater Somalia” agenda.
She had earlier claimed to have received death threats and warnings not to return to her native Somaliland in relation to her “Somalia Unity” cause. “If it happens though I am not expecting the jail was built not for animals but for people. I will be released one day and the prison experience is not going to change my views” Ms. Qorane said in an interview in 2016. Authorities in the breakaway region are yet to issue a statement on the arrest of Ms. Qorane.
Somaliland declared its independence in 1991, following the fall of the Siad Barre regime but it has remained unrecognized by the international community. It has clamped down on anyone campaigning against what it terms “Somaliland sovereignty”. In February 2017, journalist and blogger Mr. AbdiMalik Muse Oldoon was arrested upon returning from meeting Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Uhuru Calls For More Support For AMISOM
29 January – Source: Standard Media – 363 Words
President Uhuru Kenyatta says the best way to stabilise Somalia would be through more support for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). “Stability in Somalia is key for the region and anything we can do to ensure the progress so far achieved is sustained, we should do,” he said when he met UN Secretary General António Guterres on Sunday.
The President, who is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 30th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit also discussed peace initiatives in South Sudan with Mr Guterres and called on the UN to consider a phased withdrawal of Amisom from Somalia. Uhuru termed the timing of plans to withdraw AMISOM troops unfortunate because the Somali national forces were not prepared to take over the country’s security responsibility. “I would like to call on the UN and the AU to ensure practical and realistic AMISOM exit timelines that should be subjected to regular reviews,” the President said, adding, “It is about Kenya working with the region and partners such as the UN to secure peace in South Sudan. It is a subject that concerns us, as much as it does the UN.” Guterres said Africa needed more support to fight terrorism. The UN boss hailed the sustained peace initiative in South Sudan and Somalia.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) is spearheading peace in South Sudan. He encouraged AU member states, including Kenya, not to give up on efforts to secure the region’s peace. “I urge Kenya to return to the forefront of the continent’s efforts to secure lasting peace in her northern neighbour,” Guterres said, adding that all parties involved in the conflict should work together to seek a lasting solution. Meanwhile, the President told the AU Peace and Security Council that Kenya had established a strategy to counter radicalisation of youths by terrorism groups. “The National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is a multi-agency mechanism that ensures Kenya’s counter-terrorism policies are implemented,” the President said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who is the AU Peace and Security Council chairman, and AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki called on the world to join the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in Africa.
Somalia: Thousands Homeless After ‘Forced Evictions’
29 January – Source: Anadolu Agency – 249 Words
Somali security forces have destroyed and razed dozens of informal settlements in capital Mogadishu since late December 2017, leaving thousands of people homeless, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch on Monday. The group’s regional office in Kenya said that nearly 3,000 shelters had been destroyed by heavy security forces machinery between Dec. 29 and Jan. 19. Laetitia Bader, a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch called on the Somali government “to take responsibility for the mass forced evictions of these vulnerable, marginalized communities in Mogadishu”.
She also called for a “thorough investigation” followed by “concrete steps to ensure that all future evictions are lawful and that anyone displaced is provided for”. HRW said it spoke to people who were forcibly evicted from their homes at the Xaq-Dhowr and Masha’Allaah Center settlements near the Afgoye-Mogadishu road. A 56-year-old woman living in the Nuurto 2 camp narrated that “very early in the morning when I woke up, the police, military and intelligence were already around our settlement. “They came in from the road and started demolishing the structures. One bulldozer was destroying the structures, while the other one was scooping up the debris.”
HRW recalled that the Somalian federal minister for planning, investment and development, Gamal Hassan, had promised on Jan. 17 — in response to growing criticism from aid organizations — that the government would investigate the evictions. According to the report, 2.1 million people are internally displaced in Somalia after fleeing from drought and conflict.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Rape is pervasive and often goes unpunished in much of Somalia, where decades of conflict have fueled a culture of violence and weakened institutions meant to uphold the law. Traditionally, rape victims are forced to accept compensation – often in the form of camels or livestock – and marry their assailants in a centuries-old practice designed to end war between rival clans.”
Who Is Responsible For Ending Sexual Violence In Somalia?
29 January – Source: Global Voices – 774 Words
In October 2017, 16-year-old Faiza Mohamed Abdi was shot in the “pelvic area” for declining the sexual advances of her attacker in the port town of Bosaso, Somalia. Abdi was brutally wounded by Abdikadir Warsame, a soldier with the security forces in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Since December 2017, Faiza has been undergoing treatment in a hospital in Turkey. Radio Dalsan reports: Faiza was reported to have been attacked by a Puntland state navy soldier who wanted to rape her while she was in Bosaso town but she struggled hard to defend herself from her attacker. On realizing that he can’t succeed in his mission, the soldier who was named as Abdikadir Warsame shot her at the private part leading her to sustain serious injury. She was later moved to Mogadishu for treatment but unfortunately, doctors said that she requires a specialized medical attention that is beyond their level.
Unfortunately, Faiza is not alone. Although some of Somalia’s semi-autonomous regions have made recent attempts to push through anti-rape legislation, a general culture of impunity allows many violators to go unpunished — and tales of rape abound. In Somalia, more than two decades of civil war and famine have forced many people to flee their homes and live in IDP camps. Women and girls who live in camps outside the main cities are the most vulnerable to sexual assault. They do not have any protection and most rape cases occur in the middle of the night or when they are collecting firewood in remote areas. At the same time, due to the breakdown of the criminal justice system, victims often do not have access to the legal assistance necessary to seek justice.
Fiican, a 45-year-old single mother and Buulo Ba’alay IDP camp resident, was raped in front of her children. She described the event in an interview with GV, stating: It was a midnight when an armed man with Puntland police uniform cracked my home, took me out by force and raped me. Not only did he rape, he tortured me and left me with severe wound on my body that still cause lot of pain up to now. The night of Fiican’s assault, men from Puntland Police went to the Bula Bacley IDP camp in the central city of Galkayo. The men broke into tents, taking Fiican and another mother by force. Both women were raped. Unfortunately, the victims have yet to receive justice for the violations they suffered. The assailants were arrested but have neither been charged in court nor sentenced for their crimes.
According to the Puntland Human Right Defenders, 80 rape cases were reported in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland in 2017. The real number of rapes is thought to be much higher because many victims do not speak out due to fear of stigmatization, a lack of trust in the criminal justice system and a lack of prepared health facilities. Aside from the issues of justice, another obstacle for survivors of sexual assault is the lack of health infrastructure, modern tools, and equipment that are required in this sector. The health system also lacks the qualified personnel to handle rape-related cases. Local culture can also be an obstacle to justice because of a regional custom which obligates victims to marry their assailants or accept “camels or livestock” as compensation for their assault:
TOP TWEETS
@Goobjoognews: Locally displaced people in #Tukaraq in dire humanitarian emergency. http://bit.ly/2Fpnl7z
@DalsanFM: Private Sector Critical In The Survival Of Somalia, PM Khaire Tells World Forum – http://radiodalsan.com/en/
@RAbdiCG: Glad to hear Somali gov to probe massive evictions in Mogadishu. A timely good read by @hrw on how vulnerable and marginalised main victims of evictions
@DalsanFM: #BREAKING Activist and Poet Naima Qarone@NacimaAbwaan arrested by Somaliland authorities in#Hargeisa upon her return from #Mogadishu at the Egal Int. airport.
@Goobjoognews: #Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi@M_Farmaajo noted yesterday in his address speech in the@_AfricanUnion session in Addis Ababa that the year 2018 can be the period when Africa can succeed against fighting corruption.
@AbdulBillowAli: Somali Pres @M_Farmaajo delivers his maiden speech at the African Union heads of states & govt’s summit in #Ethiopia. This year’s theme is “Winning The Fight Against Corruption In Africa”. #Somalia.
@Goobjoognews: Local administration of #Beledweyne town,@hirshabeele2017 State yesterday commenced a 2 day training on neighbourhood security on how the locals can work in unity in maintaining peace in the area.
@HarunMaruf: Northeastern Kenya security chief says govt has list of 35 people recruited by Al-Shabab in Mandera to help group carry out attacks https://citizentv.co.ke/news/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Isse Awad and other officials at the African Union session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Photo: @Goobjoognews