Saturday July 10, 2021
Abdi Ali Rage - FILE PHOTO
Mogadishu (HOL) - An advisor to President Farmajo was turned away from Kismayo on Thursday by Jubaland officials, forcing his plane to make a u-turn to Mogadishu.
"I was planning to visit Kismayo but was denied entry. The pilot was told that the plane could not land for security reasons," Rage told reporters at a press conference in Mogadishu.
Abdi Ali Rage, an ally and a senior elections advisor to Farmajo, was turned away by Jubaland officials who cited an imminent security risk for refusing the plane to land.
Rage previously worked as an advisor to Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) before being sacked in early 2019. He later joined Farmajo in July 2020.
In 2016, Rage was the Chairman of the State Indirect Election Implementation Team (SIET).
Lower Juba's Police confirmed that they refused Rage's plan to land, saying they suspected Rage's plane was ferrying illegal weapons.
Col. Dhogor, the region's police commissioner, accused Rage of planning to destabilize the regional government.
"Abdi Ali Rage was one of the beneficiaries of the conflict between the Jubaland state and the Federal Government of Somalia and had been working for a long time to see Jubaland fail," said Lower Jubba Police Commander
Col Sadiq Mohamud Dhogor - FILE PHOTO
Since switching sides from Ahmed Madobe to his political rival Farmajo, sources told HOL that Rage had been deemed persona non grata in Kismayo.
Rage told the BBC that he viewed Ahmed Madobe as being 'politically intolerant and that he witnessed similar strong-handed behaviour firsthand while working for him.
It was widely purported that Rage will be vying for a federal parliamentary seat in Jubaland in the upcoming elections. His visit to Kismayo was to shore up support for his candidacy within his clan.
Under Somalia's indirect electoral system, the federal MPs and Senators will elect the President on October 10.