Kenyan mediators arrive in Somalia to push for an end to election crisis

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A delegation dispatched by Kenya's President William Ruto held a closed-door session with Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, sources confined to Garowe Online, with an electoral standoff between Mogadishu and Kismayo dominating the discussion.

A fortnight ago, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a meeting with Ruto in Eldoret, where he is said to have requested Kenya to mediate his disagreements with Jubaland leader Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe.

The two leaders have sharply differed about the model of elections to be adopted in Somalia, with Madobe reverting to indirect elections while Hassan Sheikh insists on universal suffrage polls, and has since initiated legislative changes to effect it.

Although details of the meeting between the delegation and Barre are not yet out, the team had also met Madobe in Kismayo before heading to Mogadishu. Jubaland is a critical security partner of the Kenyan government.

The members of the delegation who are ambassador Mahboub Moallin, Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey and Abdirahman Ali Hassan Colow met with Hamza Abdi Barre after talks with Ahmed Madobe in Kismayo and are expected to share their outcomes with Ruto.

In Somalia, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) uses Jubaland as a buffer zone in the fight against Al-Shabaab and the two sides have developed close camaraderie, with Somalia complaining at one point that Kenya was interfering with its internal affairs.

Madobe has since taken control of the Kismayo Airport, blocking possible deployment of elite troops from Mogadishu, who he believes could be under instructions to stop the indirect election. To him, direct polls would trigger an extension of terms to leaders in the country.

But Hassan Sheikh maintains that the electoral changes would elevate Somalia as a competitive democracy, even though there is no infrastructure in place to make the exercise a success. Puntland, the northern state of Somalia, is also opposed to Hassan Sheikh’s overtures.

GAROWE ONLINE