The people of Somalia and the residents of Mogadishu in particular have run out of patience with Farmaajo. He has turned their city into an open-air prison over the last four years, blockading all of the major streets and restricting mobility under the pretext of fighting terrorism — a problem which has only worsened under his government. As a result of the security measures, residents have been forced to walk miles to take pregnant women and the sick to the hospital and even to bury their dead..
Moreover, the city’s economy has suffered significantly since Farmaajo became president in 2017. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of security have only made things worse, and the government has turned a blind eye to al-Shabaab’s extortion of businesses and locals. This is despite the fact that the region of Benadir, which includes Mogadishu, is the only one that directly pays taxes to the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). Somalia remains an aid-dependent nation and its government has lost revenue in the form of supplemental and budgetary support from the EU and the U.S. due to excessive corruption. Moreover, the government has mismanaged taxpayers’ money, using it to bribe politicians and local tribal chiefs to support Farmaajo and finance troll farms and lobbyists to polish its image. This caused local businesses to revolt and call for merchants and residents in Benadir to stop paying taxes to the FGS.
Recommendations for the Biden administration and EU
While Somalia’s donors have urged that elections be expedited, Farmaajo has already ensured further delays by appointing an inexperienced caretaker PM to oversee the process, in an attempt to derail AU Special Envoy Mahama from reaching an agreement on how to move forward. To finalize the elections and avoid any additional delays that could further destabilize Somalia, donors should take the following steps:
- Farmaajo must sign a legal document stating that he is only a candidate and transfer total executive power to the caretaker PM, as his predecessors did, including control of the security apparatus. If he fails to do so, sanctions should be imposed on him and his enablers until he exits the political arena.
- The caretaker PM and Somalia’s donors must begin to remove all security sector officials involved in attacks on the opposition, including intelligence chief Yasin, the interior minister, and the chief of the army, and quarantine tribal units (including the majority of the Haramcad, Duufaan, and Gorgor units, which are mainly Farmaajo clan militias) that have committed atrocities in Mogadishu and beyond.
- A multilateral approach must be implemented by coordinating with the EU, Canada, and Australia to prevent Qatar and Eritrea, two of Farmaajo’s key backers and allies, from interfering in Somalia’s election. This will require imposing targeted sanctions on all Somali officials with dual citizenship who have committed crimes such as corruption and human rights violations at all levels of government, including those with EU, Canadian, and Australian passports.
- The AU and Somalia’s donors should set up an independent U.N. human rights committee to investigate the Feb. 19 alleged assassination attempts, the April 25 violence, and the subsequent population displacement and crimes committed by the Farmaajo government so the lesson is learned that any future Somali leaders who do the same will be held accountable.
- Somalia’s donors should not release any budgetary support to the Farmaajo government in the run-up to the elections as the money may be used to rig it. Alternatively, donors should open a special account to fund election implementation that is overseen by an independent committee and they should closely monitor the flow of money.
