The planning of the liberation of Jubbaland began four years ago. Kenya- which shares a long border with Somalia and has been affected by the insecurity emanating from Somalia- has played a key role in the liberation of Jubbaland along with its Somali allies from the region. When Hassan Culusow came to office in September, 2012, the allied Kenyan and Somali forces were on the outskirts of the city (Kismaayo). At the behest of his clan, Culusow had tried to dissuade the allied Kenyan-Somali forces from taking over the city from Al Shabaab; however, his request was rebuffed and the allies took over Kismaayo in October.
Since then, Mr. Culusow has waged a relentless and disruptive campaign against the then interim administration and its Kenyan allies. Since he lacked forces on the ground that could challenge Kismaayo, Mr. Culusow has recruited the remnants of Al Shabaab in the area and discredited former warlords such as Barre Hiiraale. The allied Al Shabaab-Somali government forces had attacked Kismaayo on several different occasions which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.
Meanwhile, the Somali government has waged a diplomatic campaign to have Kenyan forces replaced by forces from friendlier nations such as Djibouti and Uganda. However, the Kenyan government has repeatedly refused to bow to the Somali government’s demands.
The irony is that while the international community was pouring millions of dollars to the Somali government, ostensibly to stabilize the country, the president and his allies were busy in fomenting more instability in the pursuit of his clan’s interest. And to achieve such misguided clannish goals, he has allied his government with the very terror group that was the main raison detre for the international community’s support for his government.
The president and his government are trying to distance themselves from the latest carnage in Nairobi which was perpetrated by their Al Shabaab allies and like-minded Jihadist groups, but I am sure that they see this attack as an opportunity to force the withdrawal of Kenyan forces from Somalia. After all, as I stated earlier, the president and his clan are obsessed with Kismaayo and he’s serving his clan’s expansionist agenda.
The Kenyan government senses that president Hassan and his inner circle may have at least an indirect involvement in this latest carnage which explains the reason that President Kenyatta chose to omit Somalia’s name from the list of nations that sent condolences to Kenya. Moreover, both the leader of the coalition of government and Al Shabaab forces in the Jubbas, Barre Hiiraale, and the government’s chief de facto spokesman, the influential Hassan Xaad, have repeated their calls for a jihad against Kenya. In addition, Somalia’s foreign minister, Lady Fowsiya, has recently declared-unconvincingly though- that the Somali government is happy to have Kenyan troops in Somalia even though barely a month ago she had clashed with Kenyan foreign minister, the honorable Amina Mohamed, over her demands for Kenyan forces to leave Somalia at a regional summit in Addis-Ababa.
In light of these developments, both the Kenyan government and the international community must consider the following actions:
• The removal of Hassan Culusow from office: Even though Hassan has three more years to go before his term expires, the reality is that we can’t wait that long. This guy is a highly divisive figure, and the sooner he gets removed from office, the better. A year ago when he came to office, Al Shabaab was on the retreat and losing ground in southern Somalia. However, since he came to office, not only did the drive against terror group stall, but, in fact, he has allied his government with them. In doing so, Mr. Culusow has alienated crucial neighboring countries such as Kenya. The Somali Constitution allows the removal of the president from office if he commits treason against the nation’s interest. His continued alliance with the terror group may justify his removal from office. The conventional wisdom these days is that someone from the clan in Mogadishu is required to pacify the unruly inhabitants of the capital; however, it seems after numerous attempts of bringing a Hawiye to power, this notion is wrong headed. Hence, the need to elect a non-Hawiye-most notably a Darod- to lead the nation. After all, Somalia is much more than a capital city.
• The Kenyan government should use its influence with other IGAD members to respect Kenyan’s national interest. Currently, IGAD members are not united and some even support Culusow’s government. Both Djibouti and Uganda are well known for their support of the HAG led government in Mogadishu, often to the detriment of Kenyan interests in the region.
• Kenya should train more forces for its Jubbaland ally and help them recapture territory from the allied Somali government-Al Shabaab forces in the area. However, the Kenyans should know that they can’t fight against Al Shabaab as long as they have a protector in Mogadishu. And that protector is none other than Hassan Culusow. I understand this puts the Kenyan government in a dilemma, hence, the urgency to remove the guy from office.
• Finally, Kenya needs to improve its intelligence capabilities. For example, it may need to infiltrate and place agents in the top ranks of both the Somali government and Al Shabaab. Most Somali government leaders have business interests in Kenya which may make easier for Kenya to exert influence and put more pressure on them. It may also need to ask for changes in the Somali embassy personnel, beginning with the ambassador.
shabakada allboocame.com masuul kama ah maqaalkan iyo maqaalada waxaa masuul ka ah Masuuliyiinta ku saxeexan
Mohamed S. Ismail
Tukaraq11@yahoo.com
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