He darts through the city in a convoy of armoured vehicles, teams of
bodyguards bristling with weapons and alert for suicide bombers. The war
ravaged streets of Mogadishu have been cleared for him to pass safely. It is
too dangerous for him to leave his home without days of planning.
“When I was elected I was attacked within two days, and there were suicide
bombers in every corner of my hotel. There are threats against me all the
time — I receive a lot of alerts that an attack on me is imminent,” he said.
But he promises that the situation is improving – and that it is essential
not just for Somalia that it does.
“There is a huge amount at stake in Somalia: the future of this country, the
security of the region, the removal of the piracy stranglehold,” he said.
“David Cameron is investing political capital in supporting Somalia. People
may ask if it matters at this time, but he understands that the cost of
Somali insecurity to global business – at a time when Europe is trying to
recover from the recession – is too much to bear. The threat to national
security from home-grown extremists is also too much to risk.”
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (3rd R), William Hague (2nd R) and other officials at
the embassy opening (Reuters)
Britain’s support for Somalia has been particularly visible in the lead-up to
the conference. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, last month opened
Britain’s new embassy in Mogadishu, 22 years after diplomats fled chaotic
fighting in the capital.
The British ambassador to Somalia, Matt Baugh, who will nonetheless continue
to spend most of his time in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, told The Sunday
Telegraph that “real security gains” were among the reasons that Britain has
formally returned to the country.
The Somali government is looking to Britain to help convey the country’s needs
and priorities to the world. Mr Hassan, who works 20 hour-days and looks
confused when asked how he relaxes, promises that they will be presenting
“very clear plans” including on security sector and judiciary reform, as
well as on the management of public finances. In return they are hoping for
funding, technical advice and diplomatic support, from Britain and others.
Britain has its own priorities in Somalia, which include tackling conflict and
countering terrorism and piracy. To this effect, it is expected that Britain
will pledge tens of millions to build up Somali security forces – forces
that Britain already helps to train.
Somalia is used to needing all the help it can get. One of the world’s most
dangerous countries, the Horn of Africa nation is known for war, pirates and
famine rather than its miles of pristine coastline and centuries-old
literary tradition. Since the government’s collapse in 1991, it has been
shattered by conflict and most recently a violent insurgency by
al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Somali military blocks Mogadishu streets to prevent anticipated al-Shabab
attack (Feisal Omar for the Telegraph)
But a gruelling military operation by African Union and Somali troops has
pushed al-Shabaab – which the president describes as having a “proven” link
to British extremism – out of the capital, driving up hopes for the future.
Mogadishu is without doubt undergoing a massive transformation. The city
streets, largely deserted just over a year ago, bustle with hawkers selling
cigarettes, girls walking home from school and men gathered for coffee.
Street life in Mogadishu (Feisal Omar for the Telegraph)
Bombed-out ruins are being rebuilt and opened as hotels, shops and
restaurants. Residents of the city recall that not long ago mortar shells
fired by al-Shabaab fell into the gardens of the presidential compound Villa
Somalia, where Mr Hassan now lives.
Last week he made a rare visit to speak to the people he leads – travelling a
few minutes from Villa Somalia to visit a fish factory and speak with the
workers.
During a short stay at the facility, he managed to exchange a few words with
several men packing fish, while his unsmiling bodyguards formed a permanent
barrier around him. At home, security around the president is just as
fierce: to get into the official residence requires passing through at least
six checkpoints, several involving body searches and fierce questioning.
These rings of steel around Somalia’s mild-mannered and erudite president are
understandable. Al-Shabaab has carried out a deadly campaign of suicide
bombings and targeted assassinations since it declared its withdrawal from
Mogadishu in August 2011. Last week the capital was under lockdown for some
72 hours, with major roads closed and military out in force while a major
operation hunted down al-Shabaab leaders. Three weeks earlier a coordinated
attack on the capital’s courthouse, claimed by al-Shabaab, left at least 19
dead.
Street life in Mogadishu (Feisal Omar for the Telegraph)
“We do not rule out that such acts can happen,” says Mr Hassan. “They happen
in Kabul, Baghdad, Mogadishu, many parts of the world. It’s a real threat
but one we’re living with and working on to eliminate.”
The president is frank about the links between militant ideology in Somalia
and terror threats in the wider world.
“The al-Shabaab ideology is an imported ideology, it has been brought by
foreign fighters who came here or Somalis who went outside and came back.
This ideology of extremism is a virus, it goes everywhere.
“Many of those young boys who became suicide bombers, they came from the West.
They went there while they very young, or even they were born there. Some of
them are of Somali origin, some of them are not Somali. They took the virus
while they were there in London, in Washington, in Toronto, in Rome.”
For a man recently named by Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most
influential people, Mr Hassan cuts an unlikely figure. He is far from
presidential – without the arrogance of power, even if his entourage puts on
a good show. Warm and welcoming, the 57-year-old president struggles with
the levels of interest in his personal life, acknowledging that his life
“has become a public domain”.
He smiles easily, a sincere and sometimes mischievous grin, but looks a little
uncomfortable when everyone in the room jumps to their feet as he enters.
Mr Hassan’s formal political career began only two years ago, and his time in
public office in August last year. Unlike many now at the top of Somalia’s
politics, he stayed in the country throughout the conflict, working as an
academic and civil society activist. He turned to politics after years of
frustration trying to shift the mindset of Somalia’s politicians.
“I was well paid, I can say I was one of the highest paid people inside
Somalia,” he said, referring to his roles as a university dean and deputy
director of a research institute. “But I decided to drop everything and
stand for politics. I decided that I would change myself so that then I can
pursue the change I want to see in Somalia.”
The election by MPs of Mr Hassan - the country remains too unstable for a full
election - was welcomed both at home and internationally as marking a
turning point for Somalia. But the country remains some distance from being
able to hold a nationwide poll.
While the government may now be in control of Mogadishu and other key cities,
bolstered by military support including from its neighbours Kenya and
Ethiopia, al-Shabaab still holds sway over large swathes of the country.
And ongoing disputes with semi-autonomous regions over their status mean that
plans to hold a general election in 2016 seem particularly ambitious.
“Somalia is a country that has been exposed to anarchy for over two decades.
One thing is very clear that Somalia is fragmented into pieces,” Mr Hassan
said.
“Reversing all that has been happening in the past two decades is a very
tedious work that requires some time.”
But the significant number of foreign-based Somalis returning home to invest
their time or money in the country reflects the confidence that many have in
the president – who is attempting to overcome a politics previously
dominated by clan – and the new era that many believe has begun.
And Somalis in Britain, of which there are over 100,000, are central to that.
“They are the front-runners who come early, who have started the
reconstruction of Somalia. Today in Mogadishu, new hotels, new restaurants,
new supermarkets are established, all of them established by the diaspora
people. Those in Britain are very important and I’m going to meet them when
I go to London,” he said.
The president expects non-Somali British firms to follow hot on their heels.
“The environment is not conducive enough for heavy investment. But so far what
we are seeing, the people who are approaching, who have very clear
proposals, who already come making assessments for the investments, many of
them are British and we are expecting that there will be a lot of British
investment in this country.”
Despite much well-placed optimism, Somalia’s quiet but determined president is
facing an onerous task. Domestic and international expectations are high,
peace remains fragile and potential pitfalls clutter the path ahead.
But, as he puts it, firmly: “It is critical for Somalia. This is the right
time.”
