Return of arbitrary detentions? How Somalia president is veering off the track

MOGADISHU, Somalia - When he was re-elected for the second time in May this year, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud become the epitome of reforms and a new dawn in Somalia, with his speech giving the people of Somalia hope after five years of maladministration as manifested in the administration of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

In his thrilling speech, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reiterated the need to fight against, and revamp the diminishing economy of Somalia besides advocating for human rights, which were mutilated and violated during the administration of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

During Farmajo's reign, the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] was used as a tool to settle political scores, and hunt dissenting voices and journalists, whose freedom of speech and expression was curtailed throughout that period. NISA, then under Fahad Yasin, could detain journalists without trial.

It is this culture that the new president pledged to cure while calling for accountability from state agencies. Hassan Sheikh insisted that security agencies would be compelled to perform their duties without violating the rule of law, noting that there was a need for reconciliation.

But ironically, the government seems to be walking on the wrong foot, something which has sparked questions about the commitment of the president. Already, NISA has reverted to old tactics of raiding newsrooms, with the latest incident targeting the Secretary General of Somalia Journalists Syndicate [SJS] Abdalla Ahmed Mumin.

Mumin was reportedly arrested on Tuesday triggering protests from various media watchdogs, which have questioned the commitment of the government to protect freedom of speech and expression in the struggling Horn of Africa nation.

Amnesty International has condemned his unprecedented arrest while calling on the government to release him without conditions. He's the first high-profile media personality to be arrested under the reign of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who had pledged to safeguard human rights.

"We are concerned by the arbitrary arrest and detention of SJS Somalia’s secretary general, Abdalla Ahmed Mumin by NISA officers in Mogadishu," the organization noted. "Authorities in Somalia must immediately and unconditionally release him and must also respect, protect and promote freedom of expression."

Before his arrest, Mumin took to his Twitter account to complain that armed NISA officers [two of them masked] raided the SJS Somalia office in Mogadishu. According to CCTV footage, he claimed, they were led by the commander of Hawl-Wadag district “Shakiib” who is a former al-Shabaab defector.

The officers threatened our neighbors and attempted to force open our doors before leaving the area, noted Mumin. It's after this unfortunate incident that the officers went on to arrest him and until now, they are yet to prefer any charges against him, further causing an outcry.

It is not just Mumin given that a number of journalists have been targeted by the state, with the ministry of information issuing an order over the publishing of Al-Shabaab-related stories without giving specifications. The media houses have been asking for clarity to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was a victim of state intimidation under the reign of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, but his comeback seems to portray him as a man who disregards the rule of law, something which could put him at loggerheads with various stakeholders according to analysts.

GAROWE ONLINE