Somalia: Jubaland president meets with Aden Duale in Nairobi

NAIROBI, Kenya - The President of Somalia's Jubaland State, Ahmed Madobe on Sunday held a closed-door meeting with MP Aden Duale and other Kenyan officials in Nairobi.

For a week now, Kenya's ally in the fight against Al-Shabaab has been holed up in Nairobi with details about his trip remaining rather scanty. He arrived last week on Sunday.

Duale, the National Assembly Majority Leader, revealed the meeting with Madobe on his Twitter account, which also involved religious leader Abdille Abdi.

Present in the meeting, Duale added, were top political leaders from both Kenya and Somalia. Elder Abdille of Degodia clan was visiting Kenya for the first time.

Peace, security, stability, and reconciliation in the Horn of Africa dominated the talks, Duale said, adding 'it is in line with the philosophy of President Uhuru Kenyatta'.

The Garissa Town MP said: "I urged our leaders to spearhead peace and reconciliation among the Somali and Cushitic communities leaving along the borders of our countries."

Duale also said the Somali community living in the Horn of Africa was urged to shun clan politics for the sake of development.

"Urged the Somali community and it’s leadership to shun claim and forge a united front in order to spearhead the economic development," he added.

But the presence of Madobe in the meeting could raise eyebrows in Mogadishu and Addis Ababa, given his endless tribulations with authorities.

For the past few weeks, the Jubaland leader, whose victory in August was rejected by President Mohamed Farmajo, has been accusing Ethiopia of 'plotting to kick him out'.

In a series of letters addressed to Ethiopian PM Ahmed Abiy and UN, Madobe has dragged Ethiopian non AMISOM troops of 'illegal invasion' in Jubaland.

According to him, "The government of Villa Somalia strongly desires to install handpicked loyalists in all federal member states and they see Jubaland as an obstacle towards this goal."

Last week, he accused FGS and Ethiopian troops of abducting four senior officials in the Gedo region and 'forcing them to surrender jurisdictional authority'.

Further, he accused the troops of blocking his deputy Sayid Adan from accessing Belet Hawo.

In August, he added, Ethiopian troops had attempted to influence Jubaland polls through commandos.

"Therefore, we strongly ask AU, AMISOM, UN and AU to remove all Non-AMISOM Ethiopian troops from Jubaland," the letter to UN read.

Madobe's meeting with Duale, a key leader in the Kenyan government, comes days after meeting ONLF leaders in Nairobi.

Kenya has remained a key ally of Jubaland, which is mainly used as a buffer zone in the fight against Al-Shabaab militants.

GAROWE ONLINE