By AGGREY MUTAMBO and ABDULKADIR KHALIF
Sunday June 12, 2022
Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has promised
to renew relations with neighbouring countries and international partners in
what he calls ‘‘a constant pursuit of peace” with the world.
President Mohamud, inaugurated on Thursday in Mogadishu,
will however have to first dispense with the ghosts of the regime he is
succeeding, if he is to focus and succeed in his agenda.
Even as he addressed regional leaders – Ethiopian PM Abiy
Ahmed, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Djibouti’s Ismael Omar Guelleh -- diplomats
and other dignitaries who attended his inauguration in Mogadishu, ghosts of the
former regime were not far off, with a public finger-pointing interview by
ex-intelligence chief Fahad Yasin fired controversially last August, being
televised on his first day in office.
Promises
President Mohamud, not new at Villa Somalia having been
president in 2012-2017, says he understands the mistrust of government by
Somalis, promising “to lead them to a better future.”
But he will first need to calm a potential storm. Disgraced
ex-intelligence chief Yasin gave a tell-all interview to a local TV station,
Gaylan Media, on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Hussein Roble of replacing
him with Mahad Salad, a man whose record was dirtier. Mr Yasin did not
elaborate.
Mr Yasin was disqualified from running for a parliamentary seat
and his suit against the government for his dismissal at the Supreme Court was
also later dismissed on a technicality. The timing of the interview may have
been curious, but it was indicative of what Mr Mohamud must do as Prime
Minister Roble is certain to quit the post since he hails from the same clan as
the president.
The intelligence falling out was precipitated by the
disappearance and death of spy agent Ikran Tahlil whom Mr Roble later claimed
had been killed by al-Shabaab. Her body has never been found.
Her death could possibly haunt President Mohamud’s
administration as her family is still demanding answers on her death, and the
matter ruined relations between Mr Roble and then president Mohamed Farmaajo.
On Thursday, Mr Farmaajo, his predecessor Sheikh Sharif
Ahmed and President Mohamud held hands in a show of unity.
“I urge all my fellow citizens to support and pray for his
success. I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who contributed to
smooth and peaceful elections,” said Mr Farmaajo, after the inauguration.
Nonetheless, President Mohamud vowed to embark on a
rebuilding for the country, including dealing with immediate problems for the
country now under constant attacks by al-Shabaab and a gripping drought and
starvation threating the lives of more than seven million people.
As he took the mantle of power for the second time, Mohamud
vowed to reconcile the country’s divided political groups, as well as make
right relations with neighbours following years of diplomatic tiffs. He met
with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta later in the evening, pledging to open
diplomatic channels that will address lingering disputes between their two
countries.
For Kenya, a troops contributor to the African Union forces
in Somalia (ATMIS), Somalia’s stability means security for Kenyan citizens too.
“A peaceful, democratic and stable federal republic of
Somalia means a peaceful, secure and prosperous republic of Kenya and a
peaceful East African Community, Igad and Horn of Africa region,” said Kenya’s
Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, who attended the afternoon bilateral
meeting in Mogadishu, held after the inauguration.
Kenyatta hailed the peaceful transfer of power, saying the
president’s previous term had forged closer regional collaboration.
“Kenya warmly welcomes the peaceful transfer of power,”
remarked Kenyatta, stressing his country’s readiness to work with Somalia’s new
leadership.
Among those accompanying the Kenyan President was Peter
Munya, the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, who had been in bad books in the past
when Mohamud led the country between 2012 and 2016.
Munya, then Governor of Meru had reached out to Somaliland
to have them buy miraa under a promise he could lobby for their independence.
Somaliland is a region north of Somalia which declared own independence 30
years ago but is unrecognised globally.
Good relations
Ethiopian PM Ahmed received a standing ovation when he
greeted the guests in Somali language. Ahmed’s delegation included ethnic
Somali officials in Ethiopia, and included vice chairperson of the ruling Prosperity
Party, Adem Farah, the Federal Finance minister Ahmed Shide as well as Security
Advisor of the Prime Minister Redwan Hussein and president of the Somali
Region, Mustafa Omer Agjar, among others.
Djibouti’s President Guelleh, arguably the longest serving
leader in the Horn of Africa, promised brotherly co-operation.
President Mohamud said he will continue consulting with
Somaliland over the status of their future as a federal region of Somalia,
indicating dialogue will be his tool. He also said that his country will remain
neutral in the international space, while befriending countries that will
respect its sovereignty and seek to tackle common problems like the al-Shabaab
terror and poverty.
“The event that we are witnessing today {inauguration} is a
specimen of democracy being reinstituted in Somalia,” he said, stressing that
except when the country was run, for 21 years, under the military rule (1969 –
1991), Somalis had always had democracy in mind.
He said reconciliation and peaceful coexistence was going to
be his government’s priority. “To achieve true reconciliation, we are going to
address whatever is being felt by citizens,” he said.
“An important instrument that will boost reconciliation is
to complete the review and implementation of the provisional constitution,” the
president said, adding that democratisation is to return power to the people by
allowing citizens to elect and get elected.
On the ongoing drought effects, he said; “We cannot continue
surviving months of delivering water to drought affected people, following by
rescuing people affected by floods,” calling for better action.
He promised to work on making state institutions accountable
and addressing the nation al debt with international financial institutions.
Somalia’s governance is wanting at both national and
federal, corruption is endemic and al-Shabaab militants are still a major
threat, even firing mortars at the airport ahead of the inauguration.