By Faisal Roble President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud of Somalia and his government have been lately mired in diplomatic nightmares. The latest bellow was dealt when the United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, John Kerry, summoned the leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda on May 1, 2014 and sidelined President Hassan. Leaders of these three countries...
February 6, 2025
Category: Global News & Politics
Post
Al-Shabab’s governor – one man and his iPad
Hamza Mohamed Al Jazeera Gadgets are becoming as ubiquitous as AK-47s among leaders of armed group in Somalia. On a hot dry Saturday afternoon, as I waited for clearance to visit an al-Shabab area in Bulo Mareer in Somalia, my phone rang. It was a contact saying there was a gathering I would want to attend....
Post
Mogadishu’s Meltdown and MIA Prime Minister
By Faisal A. Roble Last night at about 3 AM, one odd spooky call from Nairobi wakes me up. “Is this Faisal Roble,” the voice on the other end of the call said. “Who is it?” I enquired. “You don’t know me mudane Roble, but my name is Ibrahim,” just like an incognito detective would...
Post
Where is Somalia’s QAZI?
By Abdi Farah Laqan In August 1920, in the aftermath of the 1st World War, the victorious allied nations met in Sevres, just outside Paris, to sign a treaty that dictated the partition of Anatolia (present day Turkey), which had been the seat of the defeated Othman empire. To make things worse, large chunks of...
Post
INSIGHT:Graft allegations test West’s ties to Somali president
By Drazen Jorgic Nairobi, Kenya ( Reuters) A resignation letter by Somalia‘s central bank governor sent from Dubai has thrown Western donors into a quandary over supporting a government they need to fight al Qaeda’s local allies. Governor Yussur Abrar quit after only seven weeks in the job, alleging she had been pressured to accept arrangements...
Post
Mr. PM, Why Vacate Villa Somalia at this Critical Time?
By Faisal A. Roble It is deceitful and conniving, if not an utter debauched leadership, for the new Prime Minister Abdiwali Sheikh Ahmed to leave the country for a tour of neighboring countries in the midst of corruption allegations by the United Nations Monitoring Group, a resurgence of Alshabab attacks on key and sensitive areas...
Post
Waran-Cadde’s Wallaweyn Problem
Hassan M. Abukar I have a confession to make: I am a southerner and a card-carrying “Wallaweyn” man. Incidentally, Wallaweyn is a small town in southern Somalia. I was born in Afgooye (not far from Wallaweyn) and, since immediately after my birth and until age 18, I grew up in Mogadishu. Despite my strong credentials...
Post
Four Somali suspects deny terror charges over Kenya’s airport blast
NAIROBI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) — Four Somali terror suspects denied on Tuesday 12 counts of charges related to Kenya’s airport blast levied against them by a Kenyan court. The suspects – Hassan Abdi Mohamud, Mohammed Osman Ali alias Modika, Ilyas Yusuf Warsame and Garad Hassan Fer Ali – were charged with several counts of supporting...
Post
The Pantomime of Somali Parliamentary Practices
By Mohsin Mahad Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdoon, aka Saacid, has been sacked unceremoniously by an overwhelming majority of the members of Parliament. Incompetence has been given as the reason for his impeachment and loss of parliamentary vote of confidence. His political demise and departure was predictable once the president, hitherto his handler, has signalled...
Post
The Silly Season in Mogadishu vs. the New Somali Political Dispensation!
By Mahdi Sheikh Ahmed It is the silly season in Mogadishu—again! But the on-going political shenanigans aside emanating from Banadir aside, the Somali nation is perched on the threshold of veritable socio-political change. The change is taking root in parts of the country and it would inevitably lead to sustainable social development. Many Somalis and...