Roble to visit Kenya after historic pre-election deal in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble will visit Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, just days after leading the country in the signing of the pre-election deal, which effectively breaks the political impasse that had locked Somalia for over five months.

Although the exact date and time are yet to be communicated, Garowe Online understands that Roble will be honoring an invitation by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, which was issued a few days ago when the two leaders visited Djibouti for the inauguration of Omar Ismail Guelleh.

Uhuru was one of the few African presidents who attended the ceremony in Djibouti. PM Roble represented embattled Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who snubbed the event under unclear circumstances.

On Thursday, Roble, who had been entrusted to lead the reconciliation process, managed to ink a deal with the opposition, a move that would see Somalia hold elections within the next sixty days. The country will enforce an improved clan-based model.

Also, the deal allows Roble to lead the elections and reconciliation process in the Gedo region within Jubaland besides helping to organize Somaliland elections that saw Speaker Abdi Hashi and DPM Mahdi Gulaid engaged in a tussle over the control of the election exercise.

Roble's trip to Nairobi comes at the time the relationship between the two nations is significantly strained, even after Qatar helped broker a deal a few weeks ago. Somalia has persistently accused Kenya of meddling in her internal politics, a claim which Nairobi dismisses as "sheer propaganda".

Kenya recently suspended direct flights to Mogadishu in what is linked to Somalia's delay in lifting the ban imposed on Miraa. The two countries are also battling at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] over the Indian Ocean maritime border.

PM Roble will be seeking to restart bilateral relations between the two neighborly countries that have been at odds since the outgoing president Farmajo took power in 2017. Kenya is part of the troop-contributing nations of AMISOM and an ally in the fight against Al Shabaab.

Also, Mogadishu has been unease with Kenya's close ties with Somaliland, which led the region's President Muse Bihi Abdi to visit Nairobi in December 2020. The region claims to have gained self-independence in 1991 but failed for international recognition.

In Mogadishu on Friday, Mohamed Hussein Roble held a luncheon with states leadership and the Governor of Banadir Omar Filish after the signing of the pact. Later, he greeted hundreds of Somalis at Lido beach in Mogadishu but he's yet to publicly comment on the Nairobi trip.

GAROWE ONLINE