Gedo Looks to Tradition and Civic Groups for Guide

Somali National TV(SNTV) X handler, formerly Twitter, beamed pictures of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his allied Ahmed Mohamud Islaan(Madoobe) supporters in the Somali State of Gedo, which is part of Jubbaland administrative providence. The pictures alleged supporters and superficially appointed individuals taking control of the state after years of being unable to exert any influence. 

Traditional leaders and other civic groups, including women groups in the state, contest the SNTV narrative. These groups expressed support for the grand reconciliation conference announced by the Ugaas, the head of tradition in the region. They stressed Madoobe appointees are only welcome in Gedo once a proper reconciliation process is completed.

In a robust forum in X Space on July 30th, 2023, Fadumo Sheikh Dahir, who heads the Association of Women grassroots group, provided an update about Gedo. According to Fadumo, Mohamud, and Madoobe, conduits flew in into the state, and some sneaked in through Al Shabaab control areas to provoke inter-sub-clan violence. 

For example, she said Madoobe dispatched three men, each hailing from one of three main sub-clans in each district, with the deliberate intent of dividing and ruling. Abdullahi Abdi Jama(Shimbir) was shepherd through Al Shabaab control areas until he showed up Garbaharrey on foot as the appointed governor. Madoobe named Osman Nur Haji(Mucalimu) a deputy governor. Mucalimu was already in Luuq. Mohamed Ibrahim Oogle was dispatched to Bardere.

 Each man’s dispatch was calibrated based on perceived sub-clan domination of the pertaining district. It is the kind of politics that triggers disputes over cities and villages in Somalia. 

Shortly after this, Madboobe dispatched Mohamud Sayid Aden(Inna Sayid). Inna Sayid visited three districts Luuq, Dollow, and Beled Hawo. According to Fadumo, who provided the extensive status of each during the X Space forum, the purported supporters in the beaming pictures of supporters in Luuq and Dollow were hired as Internally Displaced Individuals (IDPs). The district commissioner put Beled Hawo in lockdown to avoid protests that could lead to violence while the Inna Sayid group took pictures.

In Dollow, pictures showed Inna Sayid meeting with the last Gedo Governor under a Mango tree. One person who was present at the meeting confirmed an Ethiopia intelligence officer also attended, but the pictures on SNTV did not show. According to this person, the Ethiopian officer collected everyone’s cell phone and put them in a pin. Then the intelligent officer made clear that Ethiopia did not want inter-clan conflict in Gedo. 

Inna Sayid briefly met with traditional leaders in Beled Hawo. The meeting abruptly adjourned immediately after traditional leaders walked-out because Inna Sayid refused to denounce Madoobe.  

Moreover, traditional leaders and civic groups met in Garbaharrey on July 30th, 2023. They reiterated Madoobe appointees could stay in the city among the citizens, but the only accepted authorities were elders and civic groups.  

Mohamud and Madoobe’s group ignored these calls. On July 31st, 2023, an airplane carrying Inna Sayid and others attempted to land in Garbaharrey. The plane’s arrival drew gunfire from Somali National Army (SNA) units. The aircraft immediately took off with bullet holes. 

Those who shot at the airplane are SNA units with grievances. Grievances include political differences and wage theft in months of unpaid salaries.

 The command structure for SNA units in Gedo has broken down since Mohamud removed those not members of local clans. It never occurred to Mohamud that infusing clan political sentiments into an army leads to dysfunction. The dysfunction of SNA in the state is alarming despite Mohamud installing new commanders through a newly appointed general responsible for all land forces. 

These units are the same ones that once secured the state by clearing Al Shabaab. Today, the same SNA units are one of the biggest obstacles to Mohamud exerting control over Gedo. 

The instability in Gedo and Jubbaland has spilled into Kenya. Al Shabaab started moving into Kenya when Mohamud moved SNA units out of Gedo in November 2022. 

Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif confirmed the sightings of Al Shabaab in nearly 60 percent of Mandera County. Political leaders and security agencies met in Wajir under the umbrella Kenya-Somalia Border Counties(KSBC) to coordinate their response to Al Shabaab infiltration.  

The meeting was between Northern Frontier District (NFD) political leaders and security agencies, including the intelligence apparatus. A glaring gap at the gathering was a cross-border collaboration on the Somalia side of the border. 

The Somali counterparts failed to govern effectively. Mohamud and Madoobe only managed to instigate more instability in Gedo and Jubbaland as a providence. 

Mohamud abandoned a long-promised political reconciliation process in Gedo and Jubbaland. The state and providence are looking to traditional and civic leaders for guidance. NFD leaders and local Kenya government organs should reach out and collaborate with traditional and civic leaders in Gedo and Jubbaland to foster grassroots collaboration that leads to a more secure border. 

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Author is a Technology Entrepreneur and long time civic leader. Follow him @fuguni.