Somalia: Farmajo's advisor chased airborne from Kismayo

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A plane carrying a close confidant of outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was on Thursday turned away airborne before landing at Kismayo airport in yet another dramatic event in Somalia's tectonic politics.

Abdi Ali Rage, who is a special advisor to outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, was aboard an aircraft that was scheduled to land at Kismayo airport on the shores of the Indian Ocean, but authorities in Jubaland were seemingly aware of his trip to the region.

Multiple sources confirmed that the aircraft was denied landing rights, forcing the pilot to make a U-turn airborne, before returning to the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu. The plane would later return to Kismayo without Rage hours later.

"I was heading to Kismayo to initiate my comparing for a parliamentary seat in the coming election in Kismayo but was barred from the city after the pilot has been alerted that could not make landing for security reasons," said Rage at a press conference. 

Jubaland police say they averted a group trying to smuggle weapons into Kismayo by plane that was led by Abdi Ali Rage, election adviser to Farmajo. Rage was using a fake name to enter the city but police obtained the info and turned him back to Mogadishu, Somalia.

Before his cooperation with Mogadishu authorities, Rage served as an advisor to Jubaland's President Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe, the first president of the state. Madobe has been at loggerheads with Mogadishu over the Gedo region.

Even though he's serving as special advisor on elections matters, Rage is reportedly planning to run for a parliamentary seat in Jubaland. However, he's yet to openly declare his interest, with almost a month before the parliamentary polls kick-off.

Although the reason for his profiling by Jubaland authorities is not yet known, it is believed that he's the architect of the current political impasse between Mogadishu and Kismayo. For months, Farmajo and Madobe had not seen each other eye to eye until recently, during the pre-election conference.

"The aircraft I was traveling in made a return to Mogadishu when the pilot was noticed that he can't land at Kismayo airport because of me," the estranged advisor said, accusing Jubaland authorities of unfair treatment.

The special advisor was turned away from Kismayo as Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble is in the city for elections talks, which will mainly focus on elections in Gedo. The PM arrived in the coastal city of Kismayo on Wednesday in the company of a litany of FGS officials.

During the pre-election talks in May, it was concluded that Roble takes charge of elections in Gedo, where Farmajo is accused of having "vested interests". It's the manner in which Mogadishu wanted to conduct elections in Jubaland that delayed talks between FMS and FGS.

FGS's interference in Jubaland affairs

For months, Jubaland has accused Farmajo of interference in the region's affairs, with Madobe claiming that "he's keen to overthrow me using mercenaries". Mogadishu has often denied these claims despite the deployment of Haramcad and GorGor troops to Gedo as he seeks to have "total control".

In August 2019, Jubaland authorities returned an Ethiopian aircraft in a similar manner, a few days before the region went to the polls. Later on, Getachew Rada, a spokesperson of Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF], claimed on live TV that the aircraft was carrying Ethiopian mercenaries who were out to "abduct and assassinate Madobe".

Although FGS has never responded to these claims, the situation deteriorated following the arrest and incarceration of Abdirashid Janan, a former Jubaland security minister. Janan, who hails from Gedo, would later escape prison before returning to Kismayo

Months later, he allegedly set a base in Mandera under the "protection" of Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] where he trained regional fighters leading to clashes between the Somali National Army [SNA] and Jubaland Security Forces. However, he defected from Jubaland and started supporting FGS in May.

Jubaland has been the focal point in FGS-FMS clashes, in what analysts have often warned that the escalating tensions would resuscitate Al-Shabaab, which has been significantly weakened. Kenya has been often dragged into the skirmishes, but it has repeatedly denied undermining Somalia's sovereignty.

GAROWE ONLINE