NATIONAL MEDIA
17 July – Source: Halbeeg – 172 Words
The Somali police force and the national intelligence services have officially taken over the security of Dhusamareb, Galmudug administrative capital from Ahlu Sunna forces on Tuesday. Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, Internal Security Minister, Mohamed Abukar Islaw, state Minister for Defense and Galmudug Chief of Cabinet, Sheikh Mohamed Shakir, were present during an event to officially transfer the responsibility from the Sufi group.
The premier urged the multi-agency force to closely work together through the chain of command while pledging to urgently disburse their remunerations from the federal government. Khaire further advised the new unit in Galmudug to exercise patriotism while maintaining law and order in the state. Somali government and Ahlu Suna religious group recently signed an agreement to integrate local forces into the Somali national army. The forces that were biometrically registered will undergo funded training and equipment before the resumption of their national duties. The international community has welcomed Somali PM’s efforts for peace in Galmudug state saying it is right to step forward to long-lasting stability in the region.
17 July – Source: Radio Shabelle – 202 Words
Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, honoured selected members of the police force for their excellent public service in a colourful event held in the capital, Mogadishu on Tuesday. The officers mainly from the police stations in Banadir administration were decorated with various ranks in the occasion attended by the senior government officials led the Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Gulled. The commander of the Banadir police department, Sadaq Mahamed Omar, was promoted to brigadier general while his deputy, Mohamud Abdikadir hajji was accorded, colonel.
Speaking during the ceremony the Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Gulled, said the decorated officers played a key part in securing the city from terror attacks. The Somali police chief, General Bashir Abdi Mohamed, confirmed that more than 500 officers will be promoted to various ranks in the police force within this year. On his part, the Mayor of the Mogadishu, who also doubles up as the governor of Mogadishu, Abdirahman Omar Osman, praised the force for their sleepless nights to maintain order saying their hard work will be recognized by the government. The Somali police force, which is recuperating from the effects of the civil strife in the country, is undergoing rigorous reforms to improve its services.
16 July – Source: Mareeg – 189 Words
At least two people have been killed on Monday in a car bomb explosion in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a witness said. The explosion went off on Monday when a bomb explosive fitted into a car exploded near Somtel Telecom building in Mogadishu’s Black Sea crossroad, leaving two people dead, a witness said. He says Somali police soldiers sealed off the area of the explosion and launched an operation. No arrests have been made over the bomb attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion.
The attack comes days after 33 people were killed and 53 others injured in Friday’s suicide bomb and gun attack on a hotel in Kismayo, a town lies some 500km south of Mogadishu. Friday’s attack was claimed by al Shabaab. Al Shabaab, an al Qaeda linked group, which wants to topple the weak-western backed government of Somalia. The rebel group was ousted out of Mogadishu in 2011 in a joint operation carried out by Somali army and African Union troops. The militant group lost key towns in the south and central Somalia to the coalition forces backed by the United Nations.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
16 July – Source: AU Peace and Security Council – 232 Words
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 858th meeting, held on 16 July 2019, agreed on the following with regard to the situation in Somalia: Council strongly condemned the coward terrorist attack that took place on 12 July 2019, against a hotel in the port city of Kismayo, Somalia, noting that the hotel, a civilian compound, has been deliberately targeted.
Council expressed its heartfelt condolences to the families that lost their beloved ones and wished prompt recovery to those injured during the attack. Council reiterated its full support to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and its personnel, and paid tribute to its troops/ police contributing countries for the sacrifices they continue to make for the promotion of lasting peace and security in Somalia. In line with the communiqué of its 848th meeting, held on 9 May 2019, Council reaffirmed its determination to continue supporting AMISOM and the Somali National Security Forces in their fight against the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia, with the support of the United Nations, through the UN Security Council Resolution 2472 (2019) adopted on 31 May 2019.
Council expressed its continued solidarity with the people of Somalia and encouraged the leadership of the country, both at the level of the Federal Government and the Federal Member States, to continue to work steadfastly towards lasting peace, reconciliation and development in Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Sadly, it was Mahad, the elder son of Mzee Guled. He was killed in the attack on Friday evening while on a business trip to Kismayu,” said Abdikadir Khalif, a Mogadishu-based journalist when contacted to confirm the reports. “He was a professional hotelier and property developer,” he added.”
15 July – Source: Citizen TZ – 754 Words
The killing of Mahad Abdullah Nur, the soft-spoken business executive, has robbed one of the successful business empires in Dar es Salaam city of its brightest minds. Mahad, his young brother and their father Mzee Guled Nur, fled Somalia and settled in Tanzania in the late 1980s when signs of the worst phase of instability emerged in the Horn of Africa state. At the time of his brutal death in his ancestral land, the elder son of the family, ran a number of businesses, including Victoria Plaza Limited and Maisha Supermarket Limited, both of Dar. Reports said the family-owned some properties in Mogadishu, the capital, but the old man had read the signs Somalia was headed to lawlessness with the Siyad Barre regime on the verge of collapse.
The family through the connection of some friends pitched in Dar es Salaam and almost immediately hit the road with the establishment of its first business outlet at Mabibo External. By 1990, the trio were running one of the modern furniture making enterprises in town. Their clients included diplomatic missions. A few years later, the company got involved in making shoes. It took over the then state-owned leather/shoemaking plant in Morogoro and started making shoes for the local market. But as is with the case with Friday’s attack which cut short the life of an ambitious businessman, the shoemaking enterprises came to a halt after a fire, whose cause was unknown, which consumed the entire plant.
The Guled family never gave up. The old man would do everything to invest whatever money they had in any productive activity to generate money. The old man would give general directions but it was Mahad, who was the point man. Guled Junior (Mahad) was the one who would effectively manage the new business ventures. By the mid-1990s, the family had opened Paradise Hotel in Bagamoyo, becoming the leading outfit for the entire coastal strip which then lacked modern tourist resorts. While the resort in Bagamoyo opened its doors for hundreds of tourists and conference delegates alike, the family opened City Garden Restaurant in the heart of Dar es Salaam. Another eating joint was opened adjacent to the Bakwata building at the intersection of Morogoro and Bibi Titi roads. At Kigamboni, a new shoemaking plant was set up with the technical support from Italy. Italshoe was the brand and for some time it was the focus of the business empire.
As businesses expanded, the trio: Mahad, his young brother Mohamed and father worked hard but it was evident Mahad was in charge, using his soft diplomacy to win clients. He had full trust of his father to pursue multimillion shilling negotiations on behalf of the family and the business empire. “I trust them (the pair) because I have invested for their education,” Mzee Guled Nur once told this reporter as the smiling Mahad looked on. By the time they settled in Tanzania, Mahad and his young brother had trained in hotel and business management abroad and were not new to the game when the family opened several business outlets.
The family business prospered much in the last decade with the Paradise Hotel attracting more and more visitors and weekend revellers. But as was the case with the razed down shoe factory in Morogoro in 1997, the iconic Paradise Hotel came down tumbling from an early morning inferno in 2009. The cause of the fire has not been explained. Misfortunes did not deter Mahad, his aging father and his equally shrewd young brother. Of course, there had been debate on the cause of the mysterious fires. They later invested in various multi-billion shilling properties in Dar es Salaam city and its environs, including a towering hotel at Gerezani.
Mahad showed evident skills of business management in whatever matter the family would lay hands on. “Sadly, it was Mahad, the elder son of Mzee Guled. He was killed in the attack on Friday evening while on a business trip to Kismayu,” said Abdikadir Khalif, a Mogadishu-based journalist when contacted to confirm the reports. “He was a professional hotelier and property developer,” he added. Mr Khalif also fled Somalia in the 1990s and briefly settled in Dar in the late 1990s, courtesy of the Guled family. He went back after 2000. Mohamed Nur said in Dar es Salaam yesterday since his late brother lived in Tanzania and loved the country and that he was a Tanzanian, his relatives and friends will conduct special prayers at City Garden. |
