FARMAJO’S DANGEROUS CALCULUS: WITH ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA’S SUPPORT, STAY IN POWER AT ALL COSTS

Farmajo whose term has effectively ended on February 8th has predictably clung to power like many African despots. Like his mentors Messrs. Abiy and Afwerki, he has even thrown extra dictatorial hallmarks of trying to assassinate his political rivals, including the two former Presidents who preceded him and his former Prime Minister Mr. Hassan Ali Khaire….

In hindsight, it now seems that Farmajo has planned and calculated for years for this eventuality, and never intended to transfer power peacefully via a credible election or more precisely a selection, as is the case in Somalia. Realizing that he cannot guarantee an outcome where he remains in power even after attempting to rig it by filling key electoral positions with Villa Somalia loyalists and members of his own intelligence service, he has breached all democratic norms in moves that would make Somalia’s late bloody dictator Siad Barre smile down on him from where mass murderers end up in the afterlife.

Farmajo has picked diplomatic scuffles with many nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, and Djibouti. Countries that have supported Somalia’s successive governments to their detriments. Worst, he has attempted to draw Kenya into an out all war with Somalia, although the latter’s defense forces are responsible for securing large swaths of Somalia’s south under the AMISOM mandate. Without explicitly stating it, one of his major reasons for isolating Somalia is that these countries have some level of ties with Somaliland.

In his desperate attempt to cling to power, it seems that Farmajo is determined to turn Somalia into an Eritrean-style hermit state by torching every possible diplomatic bridge until its only allies are Ethiopia, Eritrea, Turkey, Qatar, and China.

The Somali National Army which was equipped and trained by the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Qatar, and others, have been used to do Farmajo’s bidding, and has all but withdrawn all units from the all-important fight with Al-Shabab and repurposed them to his own loyal tribal militia to fight Jubaland Federal Member State, where US and Turkish trained units were recently witnessed beating wounded fighters from Jubaland captured in battle. The same units are now being used against Farmajo’s political rivals and have been implicated in the assassination attempt of two former presidents and prime minister.

The reputational damage to the United Nations and the countries whose representatives have turned a blind eye to Farmajo’s actions to drag Somalia into a civil war is immense and may take years to undo. The United States Ambassador, Mr. Donald Yamamoto whose departure is imminent and was referred to as “former” by Congresswoman Karen Bass, his British counterpart who has been recently reassigned Mr. Ben Fender, along with the head of UNSOM and Special Representative of the Secretary-General Mr. James Swan have given Farmajo carte-blanche from the early days, and have been willing partners in Farmajo’s lies to the global community about Somalia, and how it is imminently making a comeback.

SRGS Mr. Swan in his latest address to the Security Council raised the issue of the current election impasse but ignored the fact that Mr. Farmajo’s has been the single biggest obstacle to free and fair elections in Somalia, precisely because he failed to control and adequately mitigate against negative outcomes. Mr. Swan has all but ignored the call of the opposition politicians for impartiality and has referred to their attempted assassination on February 18 in their hotels as “clashes”.

Farmajo currently employs many Western nationals including Prime Minister Mr. Mohamed Hussein Roble, a Swedish national the Minister of Information Mr. Osman Dubbe, a British citizen, the Minister of Finance Mr. Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mohamed Abdirizak, both naturalized US citizen, the Minister of Planning Mr. Gamal Mohamed Hassan, a Canadian national and the list goes on. There are existing laws that prevent naturalized citizens of a country to return to their country of origin and serve in an anti-democratic regime that openly violates human rights and other international norms. 

The United Arab Emirates and Kenya could be of tremendous help in ridding the Somali people of Farmajo as well by sanctioning the individual ministers above and ensure that Somali politicians are not hiding their ill-gotten wealth in their countries.

None of these ministers and members of Farmajo’s inner circle have renounced their foreign citizenship like Farmajo and are legally exposed and would abandon Farmajo under the slightest pressure from their governments. An option that if exercised will produce results and possibly prevent another civil war in Somalia.