July 26, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali PM Sacks Education Minister
26 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 107 Words
Somalia’s Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on Thursday sacked the Minister for Education Abdirahman Dahir Osman. The announcement of Osman’s sacking by the state-run, Radio Mogadishu, did not offer reasons why he was relieved of his duties. “Somali Prime Minister has today issued a decree sacking Mr. Osman from his post of Minister for Education,” reported Radio Mogadishu.
Abdirahman Mohamoud Abdulle Jabir, the country’s State Minister has been appointed to the Education docket in an acting capacity. The dismissal comes just hours after the Education Minister released the 2017-2018 secondary national examination results. Mr. Osman has served as Education Minister since 2017, when he was appointed to the docket.
Key Headlines
- Somali PM Sacks Education Minister (Halbeeg News)
- Top Ministry Of Humanitarian Affairs Official Arrested Over Corruption (Goobjoog News)
- There Are Government Officials Who Relay Information To Al-Shabaab Says Salad Ali Jeelle (Jowhar News)
- Somalia Brings First Prosecution For Female Genital Mutilation (Japan Times)
- Somalia: Roadside Blast Kills 6 Soldiers (APA)
- Security Sector Reform In Somalia Aims For Lasting Peace (News Deeply)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Top Ministry Of Humanitarian Affairs Official Arrested Over Corruption
26 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 110 Words
The Director of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dahir Mohamed Nur, has been detained in connection with allegations of corruption. Reports from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) confirmed that Nur was charged with “stealing public property”. He is alleged to have lost $84,000 under the custody of his ministry.
The Somali Federal Government has given a strong commitment to take concrete steps towards the fight against corruption in order to prevent loss of public assets. This is the first senior government official to be detained for a corruption related case in the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, since taking office on February 8th February 2017.
There Are Government Officials Who Relay Information To Al-Shabaab, Says Salad Ali Jeelle
26 July – Source: Jowhar News – 138 Words
Outspoken politician Salad Ali Jelle has claimed there are individuals in government who are informers of Al-Shabaab and share valuable intelligence with the terrorist group. Jelle stated Al-Shabaab has sympathizers and informers in the government and noted such people should be identified and brought to justice: “The terrorists have support within government that enables them to receive sensitive security information,” said Jelle, during an interview with Mogadishu-based Kulmiye radio station.
However, he praised the government for starting a conversation on the issue in a bid to address it. Separately, he lamented over the appointment of “incompetent individuals” to senior positions within the country’s top security apparatus. Such tasks, he emphasised, must only be assigned to experienced individuals. The Somali government has recently announced a shakeup in the security sector in response to Al-Shabaab’s recent attacks in the capital.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Brings First Prosecution For Female Genital Mutilation
26 July – Source: Japan Times – 413 Words
Somalia’s Attorney General Ahmed Ali Dahir announced on Wednesday the country’s first prosecution against female genital mutilation (FGM) following the death of a 10-year-old girl, an adviser to the government said. Ifrah Ahmed, who advises Somalia on gender issues, said the attorney general was sending a team of investigators to find out more about the death of the girl, Deeqa, who suffered severe bleeding after her mother took her to a traditional cutter.
The announcement was made at a conference on FGM attended by officials, religious leaders and journalists, which was co-hosted in Mogadishu by the Global Media Campaign to End FGM and the Ifrah Foundation. “We are ready to take it to court,” the attorney general was quoted as saying on Twitter by the organizers.
Deeqa’s death has prompted campaigners to renew calls for Somalia to pass a law on FGM, which affects 98 percent of women and girls — the highest rate in the world, according to United Nations data. Somalia’s constitution prohibits FGM, but efforts to pass legislation to punish offenders have been stalled by parliamentarians afraid of losing votes.
Ahmed confirmed news of the attorney general’s announcement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Mogadishu. “He said they had opened the case in Mogadishu and that they would investigate and deal with the parents,” said Ahmed, whose charity, the Ifrah Foundation, campaigns to end FGM in Somalia. “He told the conference he would bring the family to justice.” Somalia does not have a law against FGM, but campaign group 28 Too Many said offenders could still be prosecuted under the country’s Penal Code, which makes it a criminal offense to cause hurt to another.
An estimated 200 million girls and women have undergone FGM, according to U.N. data. Many girls in Somalia undergo the most extreme form of the ancient ritual in which the external genitalia are removed and the vaginal opening is sewn up. Deeqa was taken by her mother to a traditional circumciser on July 14 in central Somalia’s Galmudug state and died in hospital two days later.
Her father was quoted by international media this week as defending the practice, saying he believed his daughter was “taken by Allah.” Many people believe the ritual is an important part of their tradition and a religious obligation, although it is not mentioned in the Koran. Organizers said the attorney general had also urged Somalia’s religious leaders to use radio and TV to speak out against FGM.
Somalia: Roadside Blast Kills 6 Soldiers
26 July – Source: APA – 154 Words
At least six government soldiers were killed, while several others wounded when a roadside blast targeted a military convoy on Wednesday in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region, officials said, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency. “The attack took place on the road between Afgoye and Wanlawayne when the convoy was traveling from Mogadishu to Balidogle airport,” Mahad Abdirahim, a military official in the region, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.
Meanwhile, another roadside blast targeted a Senior military official in Elasha Biyaha village, located on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday. Local media reported that four Somali government soldiers were wounded in the attack.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesdays’ attacks, but officials blamed Somali-based insurgent group al-Shabaab for being behind the attacks. This attacks comes two days after al-Shabaab attack on army base in Sanguni village killed at least 12 people, including four Somali National Army forces and seven al-Shabaab militants.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
Somalia has benefited from the generous support of donors for many years. However, projects have often been distributed unevenly across the country and not anchored in a wider Somali-led strategy.
Security Sector Reform In Somalia Aims For Lasting Peace
26 July – Source: News Deeply – 2766 Words
Somalia’s state-building efforts, including initiatives to strengthen security and rebuild the political system, have proceeded steadily since the inauguration of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in February 2017. Nonetheless, serious challenges remain. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies spoke with Abdisaid Ali, national security adviser to the president of the federal government of Somalia, to take stock of progress.
What does the security landscape in Somalia look like, and what is the state of readiness of the Somali authorities to assume responsibility for security?
For the last 10 years, security in Somalia has not been delivered by the state. We owe a debt of gratitude to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) whose forces from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi have been the primary security providers since their deployment in 2007 and whose presence and sacrifice has enabled the progress to date in Somalia. Other international partners have also made significant contributions, notably the United States and other bilateral partners who have provided the security forces and equipment that have enabled the reestablishment of federal and state government after the overthrow of the Union of Islamic Courts.
The violent extremist Islamist group al-Shabab has been and continues to be the greatest security threat in Somalia and the region. The group retains a determination to control parts of the country, impose their radical ideology on Somalis and target the Somali government and security forces.
The security institutions and forces in Somalia are at an early stage of development and yet are faced with a threat that would be daunting for most established security forces. After years of misplaced investment, disjointed attempts at reform and a lack of a common vision for security in Somalia, an Operational Readiness Assessment of the Somali National Army in 2017, led by the federal government, highlighted the need for significant reform and a more systematic approach to building and sustaining the army.
One of President Farmaajo’s first acts after taking office in February 2017 was to agree to a National Security Architecture. This historic agreement was the basis of the Security Pact signed between Somalia and international partners at the London Somalia Conference in May 2017 that laid the foundations for building an able, accountable, affordable and acceptable security sector. The Architecture sets out the composition, structure and scope of the security sector in Somalia, the size of the security forces, the roles of the institutions for civilian oversight and the division of command and control between the federal government and the Federal Member States (FMS). It marked the first time that Somalia had formalized and agreed to a vision for its security institutions.
In December 2017, the federal government, working closely with the FMS, AMISOM, troop-contributing countries and international partners, committed to develop a plan that would enable Somalia to gradually assume responsibility for security. The plan includes the gradual transfer of responsibilities from AMISOM to Somali forces. It also covers those parts of the country where AMISOM has never had a presence but where security institutions and capacity need to be built. The planning horizon is the next four years, up to the 2020/2021 elections, though it is recognized that rebuilding the Somalia security sector will be a long-term process.
TOP TWEETS
@MoPIED_Somalia: Joint meeting of rehabilitation of TVET centers in the country is going on at EU compound in Mogadishu. Ministry of labor, Education, @MoPIED_Somalia, EU, German Embassy and BMZ
@DConcar: Wonderful to see so many of our #Somali friends & partners at our Queen’s Birthday Party yesterday in #Mogadishu. My thanks to @DeputySomaliPM for being our guest of honour and to everyone who joined us.
@HarunMaruf: Somali PM Hassan Ali Khaire sacks Edu Minister Abdirahman Dahir Osman. A statement issued doesn’t say reason for sacking but Osman was quoted by local media for reportedly saying that he doesn’t recognise existing universities in the country due to their poor academic functions.
@GermanyinSOM: Head of Development Cooperation visited#Kismaayo, meeting with H.E. Haji Mohamud @Jubaland and visiting the Women Development Center. German Development Cooperation @giz_gmbh @KfW also supports durable solutions for New Kismayo. @BMZ_Bund
@soydasomalia: Availability of safe water, functioning toilets and handwashing stations in school centres helps reduce the risk of infection among school children. @shf_somalia @OCHASom@JustinTBrady @Yngvil1 @DFID_UK @DConcar@UKinSomalia @foreignoffice @SwissHumAidUnit @swiss_un@CBPFs
@Goobjoognews: Jama Hussein Hassan condemned for being a member of ISIS terrorist group was today convicted to a life imprisonment by Mogadishu military court.
@itnoydfilm: Amazing news that Somalia is beginning to embrace the urgent need to EndFGM They have the worst kind of FGM that is completely destructive to a woman’s normal bodily functions & causes life long post traumatic stress for many. Brings tears to one’ eyes. @HiboWardere @FORWARDUK
@GisellePortenie: Congratulations @GMCEndFGM@LeylaHussein and everyone who tirelessly works to #End FGM Maybe I’m optimistic but it really feels like momentum is building like an avalanche & can’t be stopped. Will I see the end of FGM in my lifetime? Dream! @donors4women @HiboWardere@TonyMwebia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Queen’s Birthday: David Concar, the British Ambassador to Somalia with Deputy Prime Minister Mahadi Mohamed Guled Khadar at the UK embassy in Mogadishu.
Photo: @Dconcar