The power struggle between President Farmajo and the Prime Minister Roble of troubled Somalia took another ugly turn Thursday following a suspension of executive powers of the PM by the President and an immediate rejection of move and a pointed challenge to the President’s authority at this juncture of time on the part of PM Roble.
“Since the Prime Minister of the FGS has violated the Provisional Constitution, the powers of the Prime Minister and all correspondence related to dismissals or appointments have been frozen until the completion of the country’s elections by the named Independent Commissions,” President Farmajo stated in a decree today.
President Farmajo cited a number of reasons for this drastic step. These included a professed (verbatim):
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- The administration’s deviation from the elections process and elections security mandate
- The Prime Minister undertaking unprecedented steps that could drive the nation to (the) political and security crisis
- The Prime Minister seeking to infringe on the allowance rights and salaries of the Armed Forces and misuse of authority by certain institutions
- That the Prime Minister operated without consultation and cooperation with the President and singlehandedly issued decisions that violated the laws and the Constitution of the country which shows failure in his responsibilities.
Shortly after the President issued this decree, the Prime Minister, shot back a response which, in effect, reduced the role of the President to that of an on-looker without any real powers.
PM Mohamed Hussein Roble cited the expiry of the mandated term of office of the President on 8 February 2021 as one of the reasons that President Farmajo did not really have the powers to play the President anymore.
The Prime Minister stated that according to Article 4 (1), the President’s decree was ‘null and void’ and did not merit any consideration and ‘was mot to be abided by’.
PM Roble accused the President chiefly of:
- Derailing the electoral process he and his government revived after the President failed to implement them
- Plunging the country back into civil war as is evidenced by attempts made back in April and in the purpose of the latest decree
- Using parts of the national budget extrajudicially and in a manner not consistent with proper budgetary spend procedures
- Gross violation of whole sections of the provisional federal constitution
PM Roble’s rejoinder did in no way concede that a degree of rapport between him and the President who, in the first place, brought him aboard was an option to steer the country out of the current, seemingly unnegotiable quagmire that their power struggle plunged it.
Several attempts and calls to resolve the escalating differences between Farmajo and Roble failed.
The current row between the two came to a head when the case of a female intelligence officer, Ikram Tahlil Farah, who disappeared from the radar in June under dubious circumstances, resurfaced with the family of the agent calling for explanation, Failing that, a clamour for an investigation followed with the family submitting charges against top intel officers including its most powerful chief, Fahad Yassin, to the Prosecutor General’s office.
President Farmajo countermanded all efforts the PM initiated to unravel the macabre thread of conspiracies surrounding the missing intel officer’s whereabouts.
READ PRESIDENT FARMAJO’s FULL STATEMENT IN ENGLISH BELOW:
Having seen the actions in contravention of the Provisional Constitution executed by the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) Hon. Mohamed Hussein Roble as stated in Article 87, Letters (b) and (c) and Article 90, Letters (b), (c) and (e);
Having seen the administration’s deviation from the elections process and elections security mandate as clearly captured in the speech by H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia in his address before the House of the People on May 1, 2021, which was also adopted by the House ;
Having seen the Prime Minister undertaking unprecedented steps that could drive the nation to political and security crisis;
Having seen the Prime Minister seeking to infringe on the allowance rights and salaries of the Armed Forces and misuse of authority by certain institutions;
Having confirmed that the Prime Minister operated without consultation and cooperation with the President and singlehandedly issued decisions that violated the laws and the Constitution of the country which shows failure in his responsibilities.
Since the President of the Republic, is the Guardian and promoter of the fundamental principles of the Constitution;
The President has therefore enacted the following:
1. Since the Prime Minister of the FGS has violated the Provisional Constitution, the powers of the Prime Minister and all correspondence related to dismissals or appointments have been frozen until the completion of the country’s elections by the named Independent Commissions.
2. During this period, the various government organs shall continue providing required services to the citizens for the fulfillment of government functions as per Article 102 of the Provisional Constitution which stipulates that each Minister is responsible for the activities of their ministry and shall be considered, without subjection to dismissal or appointment until the completion of the national elections.
3. Since the completion of the formation of Federal and State Electoral Commissions (FEIT and SEIT) and Dispute Resolution Commissions, and the attainment of full agreements on procedures, budget, electoral security plan, and completion of all elections-related aspects to hold elections under the September 17, 2020 agreement and application of the relevant procedures to resolve the concerns raised on May 27, 2021, to ensure the commencement of the bicameral elections;
Therefore, all institutions responsible for the electoral process are encouraged to expedite the process as per the published Electoral Calendar.
ENDS
