November 3, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali President Calls For The Protection Of Journalists
02 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 557 Words
Last night Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of Somalia hosted a dinner ceremony for media practitioners at Villa Somalia to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. At the dinner President Mohamud the president thanked Somali journalists for their sacrifices they make daily to provide news and information to the public.
“Without Somali journalists the country wouldn’t have achieved this much progress made in terms of security, accountability, transparency and development.” Said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud “Somali journalists are our heroes and we must do all to protect them and end impunity for Crimes against Journalists”, added the president.
The ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ was created in 2013 after the UN general assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/68/163 marking November 2nd as the day to raise awareness for the journalists murdered and to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes. President Mohamud said that his government’s official stance is that they have zero tolerance when it comes to the killing of journalists and that his administration has made strides to show its commitment to end the impunity for crimes against journalists.
He pointed to the death of Hassan Hanafi Haji and others who were brought to justice by a court of law and executed publicly. Hassan Hanafi was former media officer for Al Shabaab who orchestrated the death of at least five journalists on behalf of the extremist group. He was sentenced to death in March 2016 by a Somali military court after being extradited from Kenya in 2014. He was executed a month later by a firing squad days after two other Al Shabab members were executed for the murder of Hindiyo Haji Mohamed who was killed by car bomb in December 2015. The use of military courts termed “Courts of Absolute Power” by Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the death penalty has raised concerns by human right advocates for fair trial violations.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Calls For The Protection Of Journalists (Hiiraan Online)
- Puntland President Rejects Claims Of Grants Diversion Sheds Light On Situation In Qandala (Garowe Online)
- Somali Police Arrests Two suspected Al-Shabaab Assassins In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Airstrikes Bomb Al-Shabaab Areas In Southern Somalia (Garowe Online)
- Electoral Oversight Body Gives Thumbs Up To Galmudug And Puntland States For High Level Of Electoral Preparedness (AMISOM)
- UPDF Has Done Uganda Proud In Somalia – Gen. Lakara (New Vision)
- Mother Back Home After Two Years In Captivity By Pirates In Somalia (Daily Nation)
- Economic Solutions Are Crucial To Help Solve Somalia’s Political Woes (LSE Blog)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Rejects Claims Of Grants Diversion, Sheds Light On Situation In Qandala
03 November – Source: Garowe Online – 360 Words
President of Somalia’s northeastern of Puntland state, has spoken to the local media on Wednesday, shortly after his arrival to Bossaso Airport where he was received by government officials and members of the civil society, Garowe Online reports. In the press conference, President Abdiwali Mohamed Ali Gaas rejected allegation made recently by a member of Puntland Parliament over grants diversion close to $4 Million received from Federal government, which was a part of foreign aid support to Somalia and regional states.
President Ali described the allegations as “baseless” and “unfounded”, and called the Federal government to shed light on the claims of the financial support. “I would like to take this opportunity to respond, I saw a member of parliament who spoke to the media, made false accusations from falsified documents, that Puntland had received grants from Federal government and diverted the grants, the Federal government needs to clarify it, whom it was given to, how it was received and to which account it was wired to,” said Ali. He later added that Puntland government hasn’t received any financial assistance from Federal government.
Qandala
On the other hand, Ali has spoken about the recapture of port town Qandala by factions linked to Islamists State in Somalia (ISIS) last week, whereas many residents have fled the town for fear being targeted from the militant group. Ali said that ISIS group is not capable of holding Qandala town or other territories in Puntland region and stressed that their presence will not last for long. “Daish (ISIS) can’t keep control of Qandala town and it will not stay in Puntland, they are not capable of either stay nor hold territories, we will carry out counter operations,” added Ali.
However, this coincides with reports of missiles strikes on Qandala town in the past days from navy ships in the territorial waters but not confirmed whether the ships are belonging to foreign forces or Puntland maritime forces. Qandala town, a strategic ancient port town, is located 75 km east of Bossaso town, many residents were reported displaced and have fled from the town and nearby villages for fears of clashes between militants and Puntland forces.
Somali Police Arrests Two Suspected Al-Shabaab Assassins In Mogadishu
02 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 106 Words
Somali police captured two suspected Al-Shabaab assassins after shootout in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district on Wednesday afternoon. The two men shot dead an elder after he left a mosque in the area. Mogadishu Mayor Sheikh Yusuf Jimale praised the arrest and promised to give $5000 financial reward to the police men who captured the suspected Al-Shabaab assassins.
“Today is a historic day. The police have done a great job by arresting the killers of innocent people in Mogadishu’s. Justice will prevail,” said Mayor Jimale. Al-Shabaab frequently executes assassination plots in the capital and most of the times its assassins manage to escape after carrying out killings.
Airstrikes Bombs Al-Shabaab Areas In Southern Somalia
02 November – Source: Garowe Online – 121 Words
Fighter jets thought to belong to U.S. have carried out airstrikes in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas in Lower Shabelle region on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports. The airstrikes occurred overnight in Yinbis area located about 15 km away from Afgoye district and targeted Al-Shabaab commanders and bases in the area, according to local residents.
Reports indicated that they were casualties among Al-Shabaab militants as a result of the attack, however, neither Al-Shabaab group nor U.S. has commented on the overnight raids. This comes as the latest in series of airstrikes recently carried out against Al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia.
US forces have provided military support to the Somali government in their military campaign against Al Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab group in Somalia.
Electoral Oversight Body Gives Thumbs Up To Galmudug And Puntland States For High Level Of Electoral Preparedness
02 November – Source: AMISOM – 486 Words
The Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) has concluded a tour of Adado in Galmudug and Garowe in Puntland, where it assessed the electoral preparedness of both states. Their visit to Garowe and Adado, was preceded by another assessment tour of the capital cities of Jubbaland and South West states respectively.
While touring Adado, the interim administrative capital of Galmudug, FIEIT deputy chairperson, Ms. Deeqa Yassin said the electoral team was confident with the plans made by the Galmudug administration towards the elections of the Lower House. “We were welcomed here by our SIEIT members, we visited and held talks with the Galmudug vice president and speaker of parliament. We toured the electoral sites; we saw two sites. The town’s security is good because Amisom is now here. We were indeed satisfied with how the State level Indirect Electoral Implementation Team here did their work,” Ms. Deeqa said.
The Galmudug administration announced the start of the registration of candidates, ahead of the polls. Galmudug Vice President Mr. Mohamed Hashi expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements in the town, saying security threats had been mitigated with the presence of AMISOM troops recently deployed in Adado. “We have been working hard, we have now had one month of preparations. Our biggest challenge was security, we didn’t have AMISOM present here, but now they’ve come and we are expecting more AMISOM troops. We hope security won’t be a problem and we can continue with the process smoothly,” the Vice President said.
On Tuesday, FIEIT visited Garowe, the administrative capital of Puntland, where they also gave a thumbs up to the administration for the electoral preparedness. “We had four key issues on our agenda; to check with the Puntland electoral team, whether the election sites are ready, indeed we saw they are ready. We were also checking on the selection and registration of the delegates for the electoral colleges; that too is going on very well. We also checked how the registration of the candidates is going, and again, that one is proceeding well. Therefore, I would say are satisfied with the preparedness here,” Mohamed Keynan, FIEIT spokesperson stated.
The fulfilment of the 30-percent women’s quota in the Lower House was also high on FIEIT’s list of priorities. “What is also important for us in our assessment, is the women’s quota and how each region is prepared to ensure that women get the seats reserved for them. As you may know the national leaders forum had agreed on 30% quota for women. It is our responsibility and that of the State-level Indirect Electoral Independent Teams and the regional administrations, to ensure that is fulfilled,” added Ms. Deeqa, the FIEIT deputy chairperson. FIEIT also met with the Puntland vice president. They discussed the administration’s role in ensuring a successful electoral process for the Lower House. The Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team is expected to tour electoral centers in HirShabelle state tomorrow.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UPDF Has Done Uganda Proud In Somalia – Gen. Lakara
02 November – Source: New Vision – 776 Words
“This is a very complex mission. First of all it’s not peacekeeping. This is peace enforcement, it’s really fighting a war. Fighting and state building because AMISOM was deployed to a non-permissive environment in terms of UN standards, for peacekeeping. So we are in war. This makes the mission very challenging”. These were the words of Maj. Gen James Nakibus Lakara, the outgoing Deputy Force Commander in charge Support and Logistics, for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), a position that made him principal Head of Support and Logistics to the military component, operating in Somalia.
Gen. Lakara will jet in on Monday and will head straight to Jinja his new station of duty after he was appointed the commandant of Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Centre (URDCC). He should have returned on 17 April, however AU leadership in Addis Ababa-Ethiopia extended his contract by another six months, making him the longest serving deputy Force Commander in the history of AMISOM.
“The ability to degrade the Al-Shabaab and the sticky issue of clan dynamics makes the environment non-permissive and therefore, AMISOM finds it difficult to operate with the population, a majority of who ally with the Al-Shabaab,” Gen. Lakara said adding that the population is not fully involved in the fight against the Al-Shabaab.
To him, there are three categories of Somalis; those who support Al-Shabaab, those who have been forced into supporting the terror outfit and liberals who are neither here nor there, depending on who is in charge of a particular area.
K’Naan Wraps HBO Series Pilot Set In Somali Community
02 November – Source: The Star – 849 Words
For Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan, the story he is trying to tell in his proposed HBO series Mogadishu, Minnesota is one he has lived: an immigrant coming to America and trying to adjust. But the 39-year-old ran into vocal opposition from fellow Somalis as he prepared to film the series pilot in Minneapolis, home to the largest Somali community in the U.S. While K’naan envisions a family drama, critics worry the series will focus on young Somalis who have gone overseas to join terrorist groups, concerns raised by the series’ original title The Recruiters and the involvement of Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker).
“We don’t want Muslims being stereotyped,” K’naan says opponents tell him. “I say, ‘Me, too. That’s why I’m writing this.’” Filming of the show’s pilot wrapped Friday after shooting at about 14 main locations in the Minneapolis area. K’naan, who lived in Minneapolis in his early 20s, said he wanted to shoot in a city he found “inherently cinematic.”
Born in Somalia, K’naan came to the U.S. when he was 13 and lived in New York and then Toronto, where he spent his teenage years. He said he is “trying to tell a story that reorganizes in the public consciousness how they see Muslim-Americans,” and wants to move away from stereotypes and tell a tale about “people’s lives and how they really live them.”
“The Somalis living here are a summer people against a winter backdrop,” K’naan told The Associated Press. He called Minneapolis “a new American experiment, a place where America is negotiating its differences and its commonalities.”
“It’s a new Ellis Island, in a way,” said K’naan, who said he came up with the idea for the series — named after the capital of Somalia — about three years ago. “And I thought, what a great place to set a story, to dispel the myth about Somalis and immigrant threats and Muslims in general.”
An estimated 57,000 Somalis live in Minnesota. While K’naan emphasizes the true-life aspects of his characters -Sameer, described by HBO as “the Somali all-American boy” planning to go to college, and his father, Afrah, a former professor in Somalia now working at a rental car company in the U.S. — and his desire to tell a nuanced story, opponents worry that the show will focus on the recruitment of young, disaffected Somalis to join terrorist groups and stoke Islamophobia.
Mother Back Home After Two Years In Captivity By Pirates In Somalia
03 November – Source: Daily Nation – 1,096 Words
Ms Loise Njoki and her friend James Kuria boarded a Safari Air Express flight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi, for Somalia. Three hours later, they landed at Mogadishu, the capital city of the country that has been struggling with instability for many years.
The two had secured jobs as administrators at a herbal clinic owned by their Kenyan friend. Two weeks later, their employer moved them to Adado, a town in the central Galgudud region of Somalia. The business was adjacent to their residence and their employer had hired armed guards and a Somali-English and Kiswahili translator to assist them in their work.
However, six months later, the two, who hail from Njoro in Nakuru County and Gatundu South in Kiambu, respectively, were abducted by gunmen. Ms Njoki was detained for 23 months and Mr Kuria 15. They were kidnapped on November 24, 2014 at around 7pm. The kidnappers demanded a Sh100 million ransom for each before releasing them — an amount that was impossible to raise.
But on Sunday at around 3am, Ms Njoki was rescued in a well-coordinated operation by the Galgudud Special Forces. Mr Kuria had been rescued in February by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in a2am operation. Ms Njoki was reunited with her family and friends on Tuesday evening at exactly 7:36pm, having landed at Wilson Airport, Nairobi, an hour before. The relatives and friends, who included Mr Kuria, broke into song and dance as some shed tears of joy when Ms Njoki walked out.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Maximilien von Berg argues that a formalised and inclusive financial sector is necessary for Somalia’s political and economic prospects to improve.”
Economic Solutions Are Crucial To Help Solve Somalia’s Political Woes
02 November – Source: LSE Blog – 1,111 Words
With the 2016 presidential contest looming, political stakes are high in Somalia. Yet, it is no secret that this race falls way short of a democratic election. This is precisely why the economy should have every development partner’s complete attention.
Since the state was dismantled in 1991 with the overthrow of long-time ruler Mohammed Siad Barre, the private sector stepped in to fill the void. Somalia’s entrepreneurial spirit has safeguarded many, but it is now seriously hampered by limited access to liquidity and lack of opportunities to finance the country’s growth locally. Democratising access to finance in Somalia, for instance by betting on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) already prevalent in this highly-penetrated mobile money market, could seriously improve governance. Financial resources are not redistributed; they are used to ascertain political power instead of growing the people’s purchasing power.
Access to capital is scarce for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa, according to McKinsey. In Somalia, this reality is felt even more as investors are wary and the absence of market mechanisms means MSMEs are essentially self-financed.
Premier Bank reached a deal with Mastercard in 2015 to distribute debit cards to customers Photo Credit: Mohamed Sheikh Nor for RFI
Crippled by the absence of a formal financial system, a limited number of manufacturing plants and an undiversified industry, the Somali economy is frail and lopsided. The industrial and manufacturing vacuum left by war has resulted in inflated prices because the majority of goods must be imported. The cost of living is high despite poverty and “people pay 2016 prices for 1990s services and infrastructure,” laments Hassan Yusuf, CEO of the International Bank of Somalia (IBS) and one of six registered banks in Somalia.