Somalia: Farmajo under pressure to release jailed ex-Al Shabaab leader

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Besides the increasing pressure from the Forum for National Parties (FNP) coalition over alleged violation of rights, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is facing another headache over detained ex-Alshabaab leader Mukhtar Robow, Garowe Online reports.

Several supporters to the former Al-Shabaab spokesman gathered in Mogadishu on Friday, issuing ultimatums against the Federal Government over the fate of Robow.

Carrying placards reading 'We need justice', speakers of the event condemned his house detention, accusing the government of 'intimidations and harassment'.

Their calls to have Robow released comes just a year into Somalia's 2020/21 polls, which have seen top leadership ganging up against Farmajo's administration.

Arrested first in November 2018, Robow has been in detention despite increasing calls by his militia and supporters to have him released to pursue his political ambitions.

Robow, who was trained by al-Qaida in Afghanistan, was one of the founders of Al-Shabaab in 2006 and served as its number-two leader for several years. In 2012, the U.S. government placed $5 million bounties on him.

Robow's defection comes after the United States in June canceled a $5m reward offered for his capture.

His surrender in August 2017 was the culmination of months of talks between the Somali government, and it is believed the cancellation of the bounty for his capture helped convince Robow to turn himself in.

Robow, who was the deputy director of al-Shabab, is the most senior figure to have quit the group since its founding in 2004.

But a rift within Al-Shabaab, between parts of the group seeking to establish a global caliphate and others like Robow who were more focused on national issues, drove him away from the group.

After years of wrangles with slain Al-Shabaab commander Ahmed Godane, Robow defected from the militant group, choosing to work with Somalia's Federal Government.

In October, he announced that he was running for president of Somalia's South West region, but the federal government, a move that was vehemently opposed by the FGS which changed its mind and withdrew support for the former Al-Shabaab leader.

Following hid defection, Somali Federal Government has pledged support for Robow who stayed in a hotel in the capital for weeks and gave him a bullet-proof car to run for South-West State presidency.

Robow and Mogadishu differed in the plan and the ex-militant leader rejected to drop his bid to run for public office as Somalia’s Minister of Energy and Water Abdiaziz Hassan Mohammed, who was widely viewed as the federal government’s favoured candidate.

In a sharp rebuke to the Shabaab defector, Somalia’s internal security ministry released a statement that Robow was not eligible to run for the regional elections, saying while the US has lifted the $5 million bounty on him, he remains on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list, which would require the Somali federal government to negotiate with international bodies to clear him.

“There are thousands and thousands of people who have died because of his ideology, because of his beliefs, because of his involvement in the al-Shabab organization,” said Abidrizak Mohamed, a Somali member of parliament. “How do his victims feel about him being a candidate?”

While Robow’s own campaign slogan was “Security and Justice,” his new public profile appeared to present a choice between the two: Embrace al-Shabab defectors for the sake of security or hold them accountable in the name of justice.

Ethiopian troops were accused of working in cohorts with FGS to arrest and detain him due to his political ambitions. During the arrest at Baidoa, at least 11 people died after his supporters clashed with government forces.

The arrest and detention of leaders perceived to be critics of President Farmajo attracted criticism, with some scholars warning of serious consequences'.

"The federal government’s arbitrary arrest and detention of Robow have continued setting a precedent of authorities cracking down on political opposition and ignoring the rule of law," notes Stig Jarle Hansen, a professor of international relations at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Sheikh-Ali, who is also the director of the Hiraal Institute, a security research group in Mogadishu, believes Robow’s transformation was genuine contrary to what the government believes.

“He wants to defeat al-Shabab,” he said. “He thinks that they are counter to Somali society. That is his position right now.”

Friday's solidarity calls for his release would further subject Farmajo to pressure given the increasing political undertones in Somalia ahead of 2020/21 polls.

Should he contest the South-West presidential seat and win, Robow will join Ahmed Madobe as some of the surviving militants leading regional governments in Somalia.

Farmajo has been having endless feuds with regional governments, some of which have the backing of former leaders. Madobe is one of those having endless squabbles with him.

GAROWE ONLINE