Somalia: Siyad Barre’s Divided Legacy

By: Heikal I. Kenneded
Oct 25, 2014 - 23:57:14 PM

On this day, October 21, 2014 marks 45 years ago when Siyad Barre’s roaring revolution embarked Somalia on a socialist path and changed its fate forever. Though most Somalis are still divided about the question of his legacy, for his supporters there is so much to reminisce about the “good” old days of Siyad Barre’s military rule that transformed the entire country for the better, while for the critics these were the darkest two decades of Somalia’s tumultuous history due to the regime’s unparalleled human rights abuses and ultimately Somalia's disintegration from a tenuously united nation state into a war-torn. Despite the ardent arguments both camps on this debate make, we should all agree Siyad Barre’s long two decades at the helm of the country were a time of vaulting ambitions beset by social, economic and political injustices that determined the country’s fate for the next two decades.  It’s equally undeniable that Siyad Barre was by any means a great nationalist who stood up to super powers in order to realize “Greater Somalia” and put the country well ahead of its counterparts, but in the same vein, he was an archetypal African tyrant of his times who spared no punches assailing his opponents and spent most of his political capital on clan politics in order to practice “divide and rule” policy to run the country. 

I’m not a historian, but I am a bit of a history buff that closely follows Somalia’s remarkable trajectory, and thus quite often wondered about Siyad Barre’s lasting legacy as the country’s longest serving ruler and the impact his military regime had on the current civil unrest and instability that ensued after he was overthrown 23 years ago. Naturally, I have my biases writing this op-ed as a post-dictatorship student, who—for all of my analysis—has a unfavorable view of the president mainly because of his disturbing human rights records in the country and his aversion for the democratic ideals: "By the people, for the people and of the people." To most of his supporters, favorably hope that he should be judged on his social progressive accomplishments that transformed the country, while many of his critics argue that despite his “grand” visions for the country, he undermined citizens’ rights and practiced far reaching abuse of power.

In October 21, 1969, General Siad Barre led a successful and bloodless coup, following the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. He immediately dissolved the existing parliament and the Supreme Court and suspended the country’s constitution and finally banned all political parties, and   championed "scientific socialism," arguing there was no discrepancy with the principles of Islam, and aligned the country with the Soviet Union for support. Though Barre’s regime attempted to accomplish many worthy feats at the beginning of its rule, at the end he turned out to become among Africa’s top 10 worst dictators of all time. Siyad Barre’s early years in the presidency were marked with zealous-like socialist revolution that drew heavily from the philosophies of the Marxist ideologies promoting cooperative farming and social volunteerism to build schools, hospitals and roads. One of the earliest achievements the military junta led by Siyad Barre was adopting the new writing script for the Somali language, which served Somalia attaining official language status. That same year 1970, Siyad Barre also served as chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which gave him a great pride and recognition among newly independent African nations.

The first “revolutionary” years of Siyad Barre were also noted with the successful creation of cooperative factories and farms of mass production, including sugar cane, mills, and meat processing that elevated the country’s economy. However, these latter social triumphs were attained at the price of nationalizing major industries, including the banks, insurance companies, electrical power production, petroleum distribution, sugar estates and the refineries throughout the country. Not to mention, his time in power was renowned with the creation of a personality cult of the president and his Marxist revolutionary cohorts by lining the streets and all other public place humongous portraits of himself in the company of Marx and Lenin. This put on the back burner the Islamic religion and the Somali tradition, or any of the democratic ideals that the society envisioned early on since independence. This was also the era of emasculation by calling everyone Jaalle, despite of one’s gender, age, rank or title. 

The Beginning of the End

In July 1977, the Ogaden war beckoned the looming conflict that the country inevitably headed, when Siyad Barre prematurely sought after the reunification of the “Greater Somalia” and ordered the national army to invade Ethiopia in order to annex the Somali-inhabited Ogaden territories. This ballsy invasion was initially successfully, until the Soviet Union with their 15,000 Cuban troops marched in to support the Ethiopian regime and eventually forced the Somali national army to pull out in humiliation. This misadventure was soon to be followed by a failed coup d’état that hardened Siyad Barre’s grip on power and the onset of unprecedented human rights abuse and terrorization committed by Siyad Barre’s notorious National Security Service (NSS), including arbitrary detention, torture and assassinations against those who were thought to be sabotaging the “Supreme Revolution.”

In the end, Siyad Barre became notorious for practicing the same “enemy” that he was initially bent on destroying “clanism,” by favoring his own small clan in most government appointments while mercilessly retaliating against citizens that belonged to other major clans. For example, in the final days of his rule that his health was deteriorating, he was said to be grooming his son, Maslah to transfer the reins of power, once he was out of the picture. This naked favoritism based on clanism finally brought the country to its knees and served the main precursor of the civil unrest that continues to this day. Ironically, due to the long lasting civil unrest in Somalia, over the years Siyad Barre’s image may seem to have improved, but the fact remains no matter how dire things became over the years, Siyad Barre alone is to be blamed for sawing the seeds of destructiveness, kleptomanias and clan division that continue to destroy the country, up to this day.

May 1988, clearly marked as the beginning of the end, when a fierce battle broke out in the North between the Government forces and the SNM rebel militia, who long resisted the regime’s repression and became bent on either ousting the authoritarian regime, or seceding from the rest of Somalia proper. Death and carnage ensued. Amnesty International reported that the Somali Army "purposely murdered at least 5,000 unarmed civilians over a 10-month period” in the early phases of the putting down the resistance. In fact, more than 10,000 people were reportedly murdered in the months that followed military led by two of Siyad Barre’s most ruthless generals Mohamed Hashi Gani along Muhammad Said Hersi Morgan who ordered the bombing of northern towns and the fleeing refugees en route to the Ethiopian border camps. Not to mention, the subsequent widespread torture and arbitrary arrests, and rampant executions of civilians alleged of “supporting” the rebels that took place in the North.

Professor I. M. Lewis, a renowned anthropologist who specialized on Somalia at the London School of Economics, recalled Siyad Barre for, "destroying his country both economically and politically and for fragmenting Somalia's clans, a terrible legacy for the people who come after him." In fact, this clearly sums up the disconcerting legacy that Siyad Barre left for the very country that he fought so hard to unite – “Soomaaliweyn.”

Finally in 1990, when all came to a head, more than 100 of Somalia’s most prominent elders, including some of the most revered Somali leaders, scholars, religious, and elders in the civic society signed what’s known as the “Somali Manifesto” calling for his resignation and the appointment of a transitional government pending free elections. However, president Barre once again missed a great exit strategy of face-saving and to avoid the country from plunging into a full-blown civil war. In fact, he called the manifesto "destructive," and jailed 45 of those who had signed it, but agreed to multi-party parliamentary elections to be scheduled in February 1991, but later revoked them and the civil war took its course. In 1991, when finally the military dictatorship of Siyad Barre was overthrown in a coup, instead of everyone heaving a sigh of relief, Somalia became a byword for conflict, poverty and instability in which there’s no end in sight.

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Heikal I. Kenneded
heikalk@yahoo.com
Washington, DC 

Who’s Afraid of General Gabre?

By Heikal I. Kenneded

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

I am an avid fan of Qeylo-dhaan, the Somali patriotic music band who as of late became to represent the true conscience of most Somalis who are deeply aching to find solutions for their country’s never-ending mayhem. Thus, when I listened recently of their latest indignation song about General Gabre’s unmatched adverse intrusion of Somali politics for the last two decades.

I became interested to dig deep and find out who exactly General Gabre is and what his motives in meddling Somali affairs are. Nevertheless, General Gabre’s record speaks for itself as a war criminal who should be summoned to justice for his wholesale genocide of massacring tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Somalia during the ill-fated Ethiopian invasion between 2007- 2008. Unfortunately, Somalia’s corrupted politicians decided to turn a blind eye of this war-criminal to walk amongst them with impunity as though he was a born-again honest peace-broker.

It was the year 2006, the first time that General Gabre was catapulted into the vortex of Somalia’s messy politics as the top Ethiopian commander in Somalia. This was the darkest era in Somalia’s war trajectory, when Ethiopian forces illegally invaded southern Somalia with the invitation of then warlord President, Abdullahi Yusuf and his rapacious prime minister, Mohamed Ali Ghedi in order to defeat the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that was then in control in the capital and much of the south of Somalia. General Gabre made his lasting mark during the early days of the invasion after allegedly was confronted by President Abdullahi Yusuf who became rather conflicted with the Ethiopian forces’ indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in civilian neighbors in the capital, where tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were forced to flee. Reportedly, General Gabre became so furious of such challenge to his authority that he allegedly slapped the President across the face repeatedly, until he fell to the ground as General Gabre held a pistol on his temple, mind you in front of his security detail who didn’t lift a finger. And as legend has it, that very incident put the fear of God in the heart of every Somali politician to never challenge against the ruthless General Gabre.

General Gabre is notorious of being well-versed with the Somalis’ Achilles’ heel -“tribalism” and he never misses an opportunity to use it in his machinations to manipulate every Somali politician to bid against those of other clans. Indeed, he is ubiquitous in most Somali “reconciliation” conferences in clad with his pistol on his back belt, intimidating anyone who doesn’t kowtow to his divisive agenda to keep the country in line with the Ethiopian interests. According to friends who met with him more than once and closely watched him up close and personal were awestruck at how wicked the General is in his wheeling-dealings with various Somali politicians by pretending to be their best friend and looking out for the country’s best interest while actually behind the scenes he’s working hard to put them in collision course. In fact, he is no less than a fox pretending to be safeguarding the chicken house and those poor Somali politicians who seem to entrust the country’s fate on such figure are no less than traitors, which should be condemned in the strongest terms. Throughout Somalia, it’s now a well-known fact that General Gabre employs numerous spies who work for him to collect classified information from various Somali government institutions, including the parliament, ministerial cabinets, military and the police, as well as the Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.

Again and again, General Gabre appears in the background of all Somali reconciliation conferences and there’s no doubt that he’s a destabilizing factor because there is no telling what the incorrigible General might contrive and he could be inflaming all reconciliation talks and undermining any peace deals that might propel the country forward. It’s needless to say neither General Gabre nor the Ethiopian government have Somalia’s interest in their deep involvement of Somalia’s reconciliation and development process and only present a dangerous potential that jeopardize any future democratically elected government in the country.  

If Somalia were a stable country, or even relatively stable under a dictatorship like in the past, there would be nothing at all worrisome about the threats and machinations forth from such neocolonial elements, General Gabre. However, by design, Somalia is not a stable country, which worries most of us what’s lurking behind its instability and the major forces that foster such instability. For example, unlike other foreign diplomats in the country who tend to barricade themselves in the Xalane compound, General Gabre surprisingly enough travels around the country with no restrictions on who he conducts business with or what is the end game of him participating in the formation of all Somali regional governments. But above all, travelling nonchalantly to some of the most hostile districts controlled by the Al-Shabab terrorist group, which questions his indirect support or collusion with these extremists who daily target government buildings, major hotels resided by government officials. As a matter of fact, many Somali officials have indirectly accused him of having suspicious links with the terrorists and other destabilizing groups.

Lately, Kenya seems to be copycatting the wrong approach from Ethiopia’s neo-colonial mission in Somalia by crowning their own emissary, Mohamed Abdi Afey as the IGAD Especial Envoy to Somalia whose sole mission is to keep Somalia in a state of perpetual turmoil. Thus, Gabre and Afey have become Somalia’s de jour paternalistic neo-colonial African envoys bent on sawing the bitter seeds of animosity among Somalia’s weak regional states. In fact, both men supposedly have gained large sums of wealth and influence from the conflict and chaos in Somalia. They both exhibit exceptionally the characteristics of neocolonialists by pretending to sympathize with the Somali cause while undermining the federal government in place, despite its flows and weaknesses. Nonetheless, it is now a common knowledge that both Ethiopia and Kenya have no intentions whatsoever to ever see Somalia regain its power and influence in the Horn of Africa.

The abhorrent tactics used by the likes of General Gabre and Amb. Afey open a new window into the hidden and contradictory machinations of regional players like Ethiopia and Kenya use against Somalia for its continued destabilization under the guise of their emissaries’ pretense to support a peaceful solution. As history shows, Somalia had a long history of border disputes with both Ethiopia and Kenya and always considered them as archenemies and therefore it is just too contemptuous and ingenuous for these countries now to send “good will” ambassadors to Somalia anticipating to pacify its relation with the country. Ethiopia having terribly failed to militarily conquer Somalia in its darkest moment, they entrusted General Gabre to work his magic of playing the “divide and conquer” odious game, which rather seems to have worked. Indeed, it’s tragic whenever you see well-educated Somali leaders who seems to be more comfortable conferring with the likes of General Gabre and Amb. Afey, instead of other Somali leaders. Not to mention other regional Somali leaders who seem to have pledged allegiance to these enemies of the State in order to keep their paper tiger power. I just can’t imagine how many Somali freedom fighters must be rolling over in their graves when they realize how their country befell under the likes of Gabre and Afey, enemies of the State.

In the end, Somalia’s long quest to find a lasting peace will remain elusive and unattainable as long as divisive elements like General Gabre and Ambassador Afey are allowed to play the paternalistic neo-colonial power to keep Somalia in the status quo of turmoil and political disenfranchisement in behest of the enemy while the country’s leadership turns a blind eye and act as though they were honest brokers. Thus, the country’s current government, not honestly acknowledging and facing up to the deep underlying roots of the country’s conflict and how neighboring countries of mainly Ethiopia and Kenya as major contributing factors, it is tantamount to a national treason.

I’m not afraid of General Gabre and neither should you be…

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What Kenya wants from Somalia

By Heikal I. Kenneded

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Most peace-loving Somalis acknowledge the recent attacks of Al-Shabab terrorists inside Kenyan are un-Islamic, inhumane and most importantly do not advance the Somali cause.  However, the recent news that “Kenya vows not to withdraw from Somalia” promptedmost of Somalis’ mind to wonder the roots of Kenya’s resolve to keep its troops inside Somalia, despite suffering devastating back-to-back terror attacks from allegedly Al-Shabab terrorists. For some time now, especially after the last decade Kenya has been quite keen to interfere in Somali politics that eventually led the unilateral invasion of its troops in Somali in 2011, at the pretext of rooting out the Al-Shabab terrorists. Now, that Kenya faces an existential threat due to its economy’s dependence on Western tourism and investment, both of which have been badly damaged by the vicious and unpredictable attacks of alleged Al-Shabab terrorists.

Not withstanding, Kenya is bent on getting bogged down in Somalia, which has signaled a deep distrust among most Somalis to wonder, what exactly does Kenya want from Somalia, including its unofficial annexation of the Somali port town of Kismayo, which sanctions Kenya to capitalize on the port’s revenues, not to mention violating the UN embargo on the sale of charcoal. However, the most damaging allegation against Kenya’s malicious involvement in Somalia is its illegal annexation of Somalia’s maritime territorial waters, which Kenya believesto hold tremendous amounts of oil deposits and fishery that they’ve already licensed Western oil companies to begin their explorations. This is currently disputed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands and Kenya is fathomably apprehensive that it might lose a huge potential economic zone in the Indian Ocean. But the important question that Kenya needs to answer is: whether in the long run its illegitimate gains from Somalia outweigh the sacrifices of its security and entire economy?

What Kenya needs to understand

History shows that no matter how divided and unpatriotic Somalis seemto look from outside, they have always become unified in the event of their country being invaded by foreign forces.Kenya should thus be advised that it will never achieve its own ill-intended interests in Somalia; no matter how hard they try to buy Somali politicians, or how much political pressure they put on them. While it would be a bit naïve to think that Kenya is solely involved in the Somali quagmire for its alleged financial gains, besides being used as a proxy war puppet that only advances the economic and strategic interests of foreign allies. The invasion of Kenya in Somalia was neither sanctioned by its parliament as required by the Kenyan constitution nor by the African Union or the United Nations Security Counciland thus it was ill-fated from the get go. But Kenya has still time to rethink the far reaching negative consequences of its long term strategy and goals in Somalia due to the high potential for getting bogged down in Somalia, which might lead to its imminent implosion.Further, no amount of pressure should allow Kenya to blindly deprive and destabilize Somalia, including its deeply flawed threats to illegally deporting half-a-million of Somali refugees in Dadaab, or building a security wall along its entire border with Somalia.

In fact, one thing is clear that Kenya apparently hasn’t learned any lessons from the misguided offensive of Ethiopians to occupy Somalia back in 2006, which ended in catastrophic defeat of the Ethiopians. Ironically, the original insurgency that eventually gave rise to Al-Shabab stemmed from the Ethiopian’s invasion in Somalia. Not withstanding, it seems Kenya has embraced the precarious strategy of illegally occupying Somalia under the pretext of fighting against terrorists while capriciously using predator drone attacks inside Somalia territories and therefore provoking many non-militant civilians and may create more people to join Al-Shabab forces. In fact, most Somalis now believe that Kenya’s reckless drone strikes in southern Somalia is totally counter productive and only tends to motivate Al-Shabab militants to use as a recruitment tool, as well as conduct terrorist attacks that target against innocent Kenyan civilians, not to mention their main target - Somalis.

Likewise, it would be naïve to expect too much from elite Somali-Kenyansdue to their conflicted-allegiance to the Kenyan Republic becausetheirlaw-makers in the Kenyan parliament have become the epitome of flip-flopping on their stand against Kenya’s naked proxy war inside Somalia by one day standing with their Somali brethren in Kenya and then going against them whenever the going-gets-tough. Instead, they should try to convince other Kenyan MPs that Kenya alone cannot successfully defeat Al-Shabab and they need the full-partnership of the Somali government. Despite Somalia’s fledgling government and continuously being at the brunt of Al-Shabab terrorist attacks, still nobody knows better than them how to root out these terrorists from their hiding holes around the country and its border with Kenya.Thus, the Kenyan government would be better advised to seek the Somali Federal government’s close collaboration, instead of sending unhelpful emissaries to illegally annexed states inside Somalia proper.

In the end, no matter what Kenya wants from Somalia, the two countries’ relationship should be forged with honest dialogue, free fromillegal land or marine annexations and using the wrong political leverages. The way forward may have to be found through a mix of middle-of-the-road approaches, accommodating reasonable expectations with respect to Somalia’s right of its sovereignty, aside from anylong-pending or contentious bilateral issues. If this does not happen, security mechanisms and the deeply flawed counter-terrorism grid in Kenya would have to be rather perfected further because Al-Shabab’s excuse to exploit soft-target security threats against civilians would unfortunately continue.

Deja vu with a Vengeance

By Heikal Kenneded 
Nov 27, 2014 




Every society should get the politicians it deserves, and most Somalis who support the current political dynamics can hardly argue they did not know what they were letting themselves in for. Somalis seems set to reel on indefinitely fighting heads of the state who compete for the support of corrupt legislators. Still raw from the last political squabble between the incumbent president and his first prime minister, Somalia’s hope to finally turn a corner has rarely appeared more unlikely than in recent history, when the first news appeared that once again the President and his second Prime Minister were at each other’s throat and much worse the theatrical contest was bound to be deliberated by the MPs. President Hassan Sheikh like his predecessors still believes in the virtue of authoritarian control over his government and to pull all strings, but becomes apprehensive whenever his Prime Minister challenges him on such grounds. Yet in reality the President is merely a titular leader under the provisional federal constitution adopted in August 2012. Ideally, the legislators (MPs) in the parliament should mend and rule the day when all else fails, but tragically that’s where all the political trappings lie. This sounds like a déjà vu with a vengeance. 

Somalia’s current government has long staked its legitimacy on being able to implement a nationwide reconciliation among its warring factions, but the people are now more aggravated about the chronical infighting of the President and his Prime Ministers, which relentlessly risk the country to slip back into lawlessness and political fragmentation. Further, the Somali parliament is currently occupied by representatives (MPs) that the people did not vote for and thus accountable to no one but to their deep pockets and bound to advance their selfish interests more than the country. Likewise, the three heads of the federal administration made up of the President, Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament quite often seem to be on another planet and seem to care little about the opinions of the general public or world opinion. For instance, high-caliber corruption allegations and links to terrorism of the heads of state are rarely ever investigated, let alone brought to court. In fact, Somalia wouldn’t be so hard to govern if its heads of state were not so egotistical to edge the country onto political crisis that wipes away all else achieved in the past. Plenty of literature elucidates why most African nations fail and there’s no better example than what the current Somali leaders are committing against their country, which endured an unspeakable political turmoil, without the least of care of what’s stake.  

The major mandate of this government was to build the country’s eradicated institutions and lead the country to a credible transition that will culminate with countrywide elections on 2016. In effect, Somalia’s international donors/partners who were already demoralized by the frequent corruption allegations at the highest echelons of the government are now irresolute how to tackle this latest political squabbling between the President and his Prime Ministers. In light of this political gridlock, when recently the UN Somali envoy, Nichols Kay chided the Somali MPs to avoid inciting of such debilitating politics in order to earn bribes and avoid the preparation of unnecessary motions to oust the Prime Minister. The Somali MPs collectively acted outraged and demanded for an apology while the President Hassan Sheikh also called for the International community to “respect the country’s sovereignty.” This delusional self-importance is quite enthralling for a government protected by foreign troops, not to mention a bulk of the country’s budget is bankrolled by donor countries, but at the same time to demand for a non-interference policy from leaders of these same donor countries, speaks volumes. 

Having ignored the dire warnings of the international community to back down from the political meltdown and show much needed concession for the sake of nation-building, instead President Hassan Sheikh is bent on showing the door his Prime Minister, as he exactly did less than a year ago to his first Prime Minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon. But this time around more than ever the President would be wise enough to heed these warnings and give political unity a second chance. Political compromise like a leader’s wisdom and forbearance is an essential virtue, and the President should seize the chance to show great leadership and thus set a precedent for all future Somali leaders to follow, as a transformative leadership who puts the country before any self-grandiosity. If not, future generations will look back at him with contempt and discern him as the embodiment of what has gone awry in the country during these taxing decades. 

 Reality Check

 President Hassan Sheikh needs to learn a thing or two from President Obama and how hard he sometimes tries to meet half-way the Republicans in the U.S. Congress, despite their extreme and sometimes implacable demands, without resorting to sacking them. In fact, political compromise is the most difficult philosophy that new democracies find to practice because it goes against the mindset and cultural attitudes of these leaders. Although power struggle between the President and his Prime Minister is nothing new to the current Somali administration, however, the stakes have never been higher for achieving a lasting peace in Somalia. Unfortunately, most of the Somali MPs are oblivious or do not even care about the serious consequences of rallying behind the President’s every whim to replace his prime minister, as though exchanging for a seasonal dress. Two years ago when President Hassan Sheikh was first elected, everyone anticipated a shift in Somali politics that might provide grounds for a modest degree of optimism for the country to turn a corner. Regrettably, such high expectations were immediately undermined by constant corruption allegations and much maligned political dysfunction within the government. In fact, the President ineptly failed on all major political goals, including national unity, economic restoration, peacebuilding, and most importantly delivery of basic services.   

No wonder, in the face of the current political fiasco most Somalis fear that nothing has changed in the country’s political maturity and are concerned of renewed fresh war trappings that foster a breeding ground for terrorists. It’s quite disturbing to see how confident President Hassan Sheikh feels every time he’s set on dismissing his Prime Minister, simply because he can afford to buy the votes of the legislators who are keen on introducing a parliamentary motion. Equally vexing is the Prime Minister’s unwavering challenge against the President and his closest allies that put him in a collision course to the current political gridlock. Most Somalis wish to see a president who extends a compromise among other heads of the federal administration, instead of trouncing each other without regard to the country’s future on the balance. The fact is that Somalia cannot afford another relapse to pre-civil war days of totalitarianism, when the president had the last say of all affairs of the government and held the power an iron grip from Villa Somalia to the furthest hamlets in the country. In the end, political hostility fueled by corrupt legislators will only leave the people hard pressed to respond and demand for a credible change.  

Finally, the international community has a legitimate concern about safeguarding the fledgling peace in Somalia and therefore making sure that the selfish grandiose of one person doesn’t thwart the best interest of the people yearning for peace and democracy. For Somali leaders to be left alone to resolve their political gridlock, as a legitimate sovereign nation, then they need to behave as one and not abuse their political capital to risk everything that has been achieved to restore the country’s stability. Political reconciliation among the highest echelons of the government should be paramount, if tangible development to be achieved.

To Impeach or Not to Impeach: That is the Question

By Heikal I. Kenneded

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

It is becoming common tragedy in the Somali national conversation to observe the silly season of politics epitomized with the introduction of dangerous motions to overthrow either the prime minister or the president and incessantly edge the country in a mode of crisis. This week Somalia’s parliament announced plans to impeach President Hassan Sh. Mohamud in which more than ninety members of parliament (MPs) are the signatories of this latest impeachment, throwing the country into further political turmoil. The President is also alleged of plotting his retaliation with advisers and is adamant of finishing his dwindling term of no more than one year and claims this latest impeachment campaign is mainly hard pressed by elements who are not “working for the interest of the public and the greater Somalia nation.” Somalia's top donor countries are also reportedly scrambling a way to ease these tensions before the entire peace process and country rebuilding is thrown into fire that might have the potential to dampen the upcoming elections on 2016. The President who in the recent past organized a vote of no-confidence against his last two sitting Prime Ministers accusing them of incompetence, now the same disconcerting forces are against his seat, deepening a political crisis in his fledging government.

Though most of the people do not believe Somalia’s parliamentarians would go through with this risky impeachment process and put the country's recent relative political stability in jeopardy and rather hope this latest impeachment is another political expedient to distract attention from gearing the country towards the targeted countrywide elections on 2016. However, the Somali MPs’ anger has grown consistently over the last few years due to corruption allegations and other egregious trespassing of the law by the President’s office. The MPs spearheading the impeachment motion claim President Hassan Sheikh’s government did little to improve the lives of the Somali people during his tenure in office, not to mention that the President has shown a lack of respect for the country’s institution and its internal workings. There are also rumors of blatant corruption and accusations of embezzling state funds that plagued President Hassan’s government since its inception 2012, despite constant budget shortfalls and lack of stipend payments of the country’s police and armed forces. The final straw for many has been the fact that the President has personally involved his political capital in the elections of regional administrations, which represents a clear violation of the President’s oath to obey, uphold, observe and maintain the Constitution.  As of late, The President does not seem to have a solid support base in parliament as in the past and it seems he and his supporters have underestimated the level of discontent within the MPs in the parliament and he might be losing what tenuous political support he had in the recent past.

Since the fall of the Siyad Barre dictatorship regime, succeeding Somali governments became notorious with conflicts between presidents and their prime ministers that constantly created gridlock in ensuing governments. However, the only time that impeachment has been used in Somalia before was President Abudullahi Yusuf in 2008, after he was accused of blocking the country’s political reconciliation process. Under Somalia’s constitution, an impeachment vote requires a two-thirds majority of the 275 members of the national assembly, which will not be easy in order coalesce a huge number of opponents against President Hassan Sheikh’s power. Not to mention, the lack of a viable Constitutional Court that decides whether the President is guilty of the alleged misconducts he is charged with. The bigger immediate concern is losing track of the country’s Vision 2016 - hold democratic elections.

President Hassan allegedly criticized the MPs spearheading the latest impeachment motion for risking the stability of the country because they were unhappy about the fact that certain privileges, including losing ministerial cabinet positions, had not been met. The President has adamantly indicated that he will not allow himself to be forced from power and urged the MPs behind the impeachment to put the stability of the country first. Though it would be wise for the President to acknowledge his shortcomings and reconcile with the opposition in the parliament in order to peacefully finish his dwindling term.

In the end, lack of a strong judiciary system to reach a final decision about the impeachment motion lodged against the President in order to determine whether the president has subverted the constitution or is guilty of gross misconduct and thus may form the basis of the impeachment, will defeat the purpose of going forward with this motion. But this clearly diagnoses a deeper problem for Somalia to legitimately govern itself and responsibly be part of the world community, instead of becoming the quintessential banana republic. Thus, impeachment of the President is no panacea to the country’s daunting problems to overcome in the near future, including social, economic and security challenges and in the end will hurt the country’s image and imperil the few gains in the past. Though it provides a robust indication that Somalia has forever passed the era of one-man rule and the President rather needs the advice and consent of the parliament.

Finally, on top of the chilling security challenges posed by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and the fragile social and political institutions in the country, to impeach the head of the government poses the risk of ever pushing the country on the edge of a cliff and therefore the MPs fronting this risky motion need to be careful what they wish for, lest it comes true. The drive to impeach the President in less than a year before the 2016 elections will only add an insult to injury and worsen the country’s growing political deadlock.

All the President’s Men

By Heikal I. Kenneded
Thursday, January 15, 2015

The newly appointed Somali Prime Minister, Omar Sharmarke has miserably failed on passing the first major milestone as the nation's next prime minister to put together a respectable government body that everyone can place his/her hopes and dreams, by rather exclusively reappointing - All the President’s Men – made up of mostly Dam-Jadid party members.  He named a 25 cabinet -member that almost entirely comprises the last incumbent ministers who nearly hold their former posts.In fact, the “new” Cabinet members are led by the likes of Farah Abdulqadir, Abdikarim Guled, and Abdullaahi Mohamed (AKA Sanbaloshe) who are well-known Dam-Jadid heavyweights, notorious for yielding excessive powers, not granted constitutionally.Thus, as PM Omar Sharmarke prepares to lead his “new” ministers in front of the parliament for approval, he faces a staunch opposition, resulting from a growing number of disgruntled lawmakers who seem to be disillusioned with the audacity of President Hassan Sheikh to hand-select the same last cabinet ministers to be sanctioned for a second term after they supported the overthrow of the last Prime Minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.

It is finally dawning on most Somalis that the remaining term (less than two years) of President Hassan Sheikh’s government might run out while he is still catering to most important ministerial posts to his secretive party members of Dam-Jadid who seem to hold a searing grip on all of his major decisions. Nonetheless, what these Dam-Jadid party members fail to appreciate is that their “political party” was NOT elected when Hassan Sheikh ran for the office of the presidency, but rather were a clandestine party with a shady agenda. As such, they need to keep in mind that they have no right to manipulate the government of Hassan Sheikh for their political and power gain. On the contrary, they do need to recognize they are not part of a truly elected government, but a farce regime installed in order to placate their imagined status so that eventually “a government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish” from the Somalia.

After the lastprime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed reluctantly resigned from his post, the parliament was appeased that the President will select a “better” prime minister who would in turn assemble a more inclusive and competent Cabinet ministers. However, everyone knew the dishonest reasons that the last two prime ministers were ousted and only expected the worst to come from President Hassan Sheikh and his Dam-Jadid party for nominating Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke who was among the least favorite prime ministers that the country had witnessed for the last two decades since the Somalin nation-state collapsed. During the last time that he held this position - 2010, he was labeled on several egregious accusations, including the selling of the Somali maritime boundaries to neighboring country, Kenya. Indeed, it’s disheartening that the new PM has neither the decency nor the grit to select his new cabinet ministers but rather nonchalantly allowed to be force-fed his list from a pool of incompetent bureaucrats who failed time and again to deliver in promoting a viable reconciliation and reconstruction process for the country. As such, there is no sign of any major changes in the nominations that embody change so far. Once again, Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke has sadly failed to live-up to his father’s reputation as a shrewd politician who led the country in a very crucial period. Instead, the Prime Minister chose his position to be undermined by the President and kowtow to his Dam-Jadid party. Thus, he will fight to stamp his authority in the face of a powerful President who will manipulate every step he takes. This might eventually further pave the way for another germination of a new animosity within the current government.

So how can the new PM redeem himself in the eyes of so many skeptics and opposition groups by orienting the embattled government towards a progressive road, instead of blindly following their old, failed paradigm, which is based on clan politics? Despite the daunting task facing the PM, he still can introduce needed changes if he successfully rallies the international community to help Somalia alleviate the current political situation. PM Omar Sharmarke’s biggest challenge, however, lies in reconciling with the powerful and cunning Dam-Jadid party who lately seem to have hijacked the government of Hassan Sheikh. Since the current intransigent political circumstances, engagement and honest dialogue, not tit-for-tat confrontation should be the order of the day for a government that was originally established on the premise of reconciling all different parties. Once this happens, other difficulties facing PM Sharmarke’s government, including lack of international support and to gain the trust of the Somali people will resolve themselves.

Finally, the new dawn of hope to unite the country that all Somalis dreamed about few years ago has died with Hassan Sheikh’s government who ignores to face up to his responsibilities to grasp the challenges posed by the under circumstances, and like his most recent predecessors will go down in history as the lousy leader who didn’t have the courage to stand up when his calling came. Likewise, the new Prime Minister could have learned from his past experience and stand on his ground in order to form his own cabinet ministers but rather succumbed to be exploited by the Dam-Jadid party, and thus he will need few miracles to weather some of the early skepticism. His efforts to take charge, regain momentum, and earn public confidence are all important keys in order to change the current stalemate that the government of Hassan Sheikh is drowning in.

Though one would expect from President Hassan to stake his government’s last hope on the success of his third prime minister in order to tackle the country’s numerous intransigent problems. Nevertheless, the President missed such important opportunity to mount such an ambitious plan by returning the same cabinet ministers. By most accounts, President Hassan Sheikh is focused on amassing a horde of “Yes men” who will overlook all of his miscalculations, while admonishing rivals who would be a challenge to his government. He needs to consult with the public and most importantly the budding of Somali intellectuals and technocrats in the Diaspora, in a way that he perhaps never did before. Because honest consultations will not reduce his influence or least likely remove his responsibilities for making the final judgment about how to run the country. 

So far the Prime Minister has shown too much allegiance to the President and that itself might eventually be his downfall because he must demonstrate independence from the President to carry out his official directives. And here lies how Hassan Sheikh’s government can eventually succeed in accomplishing its mandate or miserably failing it, similar to that of its predecessor transitional government - the TFG. In conclusion, Hassan Sheikh’s administration is paying the price for failing to engage “free thinkers” both in the country and in the Diaspora in fear of losing its grip of “an imagined” power that will re-launch him onto another second term in 2016. His government like his predecessors is also paying the price for allowing Ethiopia and other unhelpful neighboring countries to meddle in their internal affairs as though Somalia was one of his provincial states under the Addis administration. But also Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke will pay the price for not leading an effective, transparent government that is free of nepotism and corruption. If matters are not immediately turned around, Somalia might never have another opportunity to salvage its existence and will sink further into chaos.

Muqdisho is Calling

By Heikal I. Kenneded

September 7, 2012 

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I arrived in Muqdisho few days after the new Somali parliament elected its highly competent Speaker, Prof. M. O. Jawaari and I'm fascinated to have witnessed the excitement on the faces of the people, as a new dawn of peace and reconciliation sets in the country. The city itself is fast changing and seems to be making up for lost time. Security wise, the streets of Muqdisho are very impressive and freedom of movement in all of its districts is unhampered while redevelopment of the city's business centers is painstakingly taking shape. One of the telltale signs of the changes taking place in Muqdisho is the scale of building in the city, which feels like living in a big construction site. An old friend of mine noted on the other day that he had never seen a redevelopment of this scale in the city for the past two decades. In addition, Muqdisho is witnessing a wave of its most educated and enlightened - Diaspora community coming back to their native homeland in order to reclaim their important role to rebuild their country.

As soon as the small charter plane that I was traveling from Nairobi to Muqdisho made its careful descent, I became captivated by the immensity and beauty of the city's shoreline of the Indian Ocean.  The aircraft was packed with many Somali Diasporas from all over the world, eager to revisit the homeland probably like myself for the first time since the beginning of the civil strife in Somalia so that they could participate in the rebirth of the nation. A sense of renaissance was palpable on their faces that this time is different. if the great momentum of renewed peace and redevelopment in the country is kept at this level, Somalia in general will restore its national pride while Muqdisho will reclaim its old nickname "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean." indeed, it would be fascinating to witness in our lifetime such reversal of Muqdisho's fortunes. One certainly hopes Somalia's new leadership have learned from the colossal failures of past transitional governments who myopically focused on playing clan politics while allegedly enriching themselves with the country's meager income budget.

What Somalia needs now more than ever is not aid from the international community, but Somali investment of all kinds, including capital investment, social investment, education and expertise investment. Somalia badly needs its educated young people wherever they might be to bring their skills and ingenuity to solve Somalia's problems. Though the rewards might not immediately be there, still the growth opportunities are there to invest, while making a positive impact in the lives of many poor people who could greatly benefit from such opportunities. In other words, social entrepreneurialism is the ultimate key of unlocking the country's various social ills.

Not surprisingly, getting into grips with the city's vast devastation of its historical landmarks and ancient neighborhoods is quite a perplexing experience but also a disorienting process to be reckoned with. Fortunately, the old city's irresistible charm is all around that you cannot escape but conjure up what the city might have looked like if the curse of the long-tailed civil war had not engulfed it. For instance, long distorted but not vanished are the city's famous labyrinthine bazaars in Xamarweyne and Shangani districts that sprout with all sorts of foot peddlers. A visit to the city's beaches on Friday is no less than a surreal experience that reminds me of the good old days in Muqdisho when the city's residents nonchalantly strolled on the sandy beaches of Lido and Jazira or took a dip in its warm azure waters.

Despite the improvement of the city's security situation and the political awakening is beyond believe, there is a cynicism of some and their early predictions that the new government will be "same old same" made up of incompetent and corrupt officials who will only continue to further the country's nosedive into the abyss. However, the impressive dedication of the Technical Selection Committee (TSC) who made sure to go beyond the pale in their efforts of screening the background and qualifications of all new MPs into the new Somali parliament and the recent election of the parliament's great Speaker, Honorable Prof. Jawaari is their answer.

Strikingly, one of the great benefits this new government will have is the unprecedented interest of the international community in Somalia. This renewed interest to put Somalia's collapsed house in order will open up a lot of opportunities for many Somalis in the Diaspora with professional skills and an unmatched entrepreneurial acumen. Because educated Somalis in the Diaspora now realize gone are the days when one's professional skills are only useful in the developed world of their adopted countries, since the potential to freely exercise local understanding and influence is most attainable in one's native homeland. Despite the tremendous excitement expressed to me by several friends from the Somali Diaspora, there are still several intractable issues that cause a great frustration and sense of concern stemming from a deep mistrust and misunderstanding between the locals and the new wave of the Diaspora community returning in the country. For instance, i know the case of an acquaintance of mine who ran into many obstacles to participate in the country's new political movement or redevelopment projects and felt being marginalized as though an alien. In fact, his frustration was echoed by many others that i ran into one of my daily get-togethers in the city's streets and cafes. Nevertheless, this is quite understandable due to the huge cultural gap that developed between these Somali Diasporas and their local counterpart communities over the last two decades.

All in all, Muqdisho is calling to all her capable sons and daughters in its hour of most need but also out of duty to come back and restore its shattered aura and dignity cause we all owe it to her, at least.  I for one could no longer resist but heed this urgent call while leaving behind my dear family and a privileged career.

Are you going to answer the call?

Death of a “Fantastic” Journalist

By Heikal I. Kenneded
Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The recent cold-blooded killing of journalist Hassan Omar Abdi, widely known as Hassan Fantastic underscores once more how dire things are in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.  The city has become synonymous with the most perilous place in the world to work as a journalist, 25 journalists have died since 2007.  Truth – whether spoken or written has become the most precarious commodity in the capital, as the threat of those who dare to tell it grows. It is a world where free speech is punished with acts of assassination, instead of recrimination.  Across Somalia, violent attacks against journalists and other media professionals are rampant, but those in Mogadishu face unparalleled threat of their extinction.

Hassan Fantastic was the director of much respected Shebelle Media Network and he was committed to speak truth to power, despite the constant harassment and threat from both government officials and the Al-Shabab militants.  His private news outlet was at the forefront of chronicling the terrorist activities of Al-Shabab and investigating the corruption plagued Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). 

The tragic the death of Hassan Fantastic was the third managing director of the Shabelle Media Network to be killed and now he joins them in grave.  It was reported that he was shot by two unidentified masked men wearing the Somali military uniform.  The motives, however, are uncertain and the perpetrators may have been incensed by some piece reported by the journalist, who tirelessly worked to report about the TFG’s calamitous corruption and the precipitous downfall of Al-Shabab.  Though most of his colleagues reportedly believe that Hassan Fantastic’s murder was mysteriously linked to his role in reporting on the political crisis in Somalia and on the TFG’s corruption, yet there’s no prove.  This allegation is partly due to his most recent investigative journalism exposé that related to a corruption case by a senior level TFG official, Said Ali Moalin of Mogadishu’s port director. He was recently discharged from his post due to corruption related to food aid.

Of course, I didn’t know personally Hassan Fantastic, but I could vicariously identify and sympathize with him through friends and acquaintances that I met in Cape Town, South Africa.  When the dreadful death of Hassan Fantastic was first broadcasted throughout the international media and my initial reaction was “Not Again!”  That same evening, I coincidentally met with several young self-exiled Somali journalists in South Africa who were taping a condolence piece for Universal TV.  They unequivocally condemned the assassination of Hassan Fantastic and promised to step up to the plate by continuing his important work.  The sadness coupled with furious anger in the faces of these half-dozen young men was palpable and touching at the same time.  As one after another passed the microphone, they commended the heroism work accomplished by their bereaved colleague, Hassan Fantastic.  His investigative journalism was hailed as the most vocal critic of both Al-Shabab, as well as the TFG’s alleged rampant corruption and incompetence. 

Fearing for their safety and security, many of these Somali journalists are now living in self-imposed exile in South Africa, where they face increasing xenophobic violence.  Nevertheless, these young and courageous Somali journalists, broadcasters, reporters, bloggers, media owners, communication professional are the epitome of what could be right in Somalia and need our unfettered support.  Undeterred, they report day- in and day-out from the front lines of war-ravaged Somalia in order to shed light and bring awareness to the injustices carried out by those in control.  Somalis in the Diaspora need to show great solidarity with these rare breed of “True” journalists whose patriotism is on par to those of Somali Youth League (SYL) members during colonialism.  Ironically, a great majority of these journalists grew up in Somalia during the civil war and they have never known an effective central government, or the “nostalgic” heydays of the Somali nation state. 

Finally, as most Somalis get ready for the upcoming London Conference on Somalia, they must keep in mind that peace and stability in the country will always be an elusive thing, as long as violence against journalists in the country is continued with impunity for those responsible.  Despite all of the brouhaha as of late that Mogadishu has been pacified from the Al-Shabab terrorists, it would avail to nothing until the city’s journalists are capable of reporting the news as freely as their other counterparts around the world.  Currently, the only option for the remaining journalists in the capital is to protect themselves by arming themselves, and to prod the Somali government backed by African Union forces to do the same in their targeted media houses.  It will be very difficult undertaking, but it has to be done.

Hassan Osman Abdi (Fantastic) was 29 years old and leaves a wife, two young daughters and a son - Allah might protect them.  Amen.

The Welcome Evolution of the Somali Parliament

By Heikal I. Kenneded

February 5, 2015

Somalia's new Prime Minister, Omar A. Sharmarke will soon try again to get a confirmation for his new Cabinet in place after the parliament rejected his first lineup amid political turmoil. The Prime Minister complemented in his new Cabinet with several members of the parliament in order to appease them and get the necessary votes for confirmation. Yet, to most MPs the new Cabinet of mostly political novices seems suspicious because they believe the “real” Cabinet is in the kitchen and it’s made up of Dam-Jadid advisors of the President who are planning a political coup, unlike anything Somalia has ever witnessed before in its political history. Perhaps, in the face of these legislators uniting into viable political caucuses (Kutlad), we are witnessing the rebirth of an effective Somali parliament that might positively influence the political course of Somalia’s trudge towards democracy.

This is certainly a breath of fresh air in the dawn of Somali politics that might restore the credibility and reliability of a viable political system that has been destroyed by decades of dictatorship and civil war in the country. In fact, Somali MPs working together in political caucuses will benefit the country in propelling towards a more democratic government accountable to the rules and regulations in the constitution rather than being corrupted by the ruling party. Further incentives for coalescing in political blocks in the parliament include enforcing much-needed oversight to growing bilateral and multinational agreements in a country emerging from protracted civil war and predisposed to foreign exploitation. 

Further, the word on the streets of Mogadishu is that most MPs who are opposed to the confirmation of the new Cabinet are apprehensive that the President might eventually abuse a small loophole offered by the constitution, which allows the Prime Minister to reshuffle his cabinet (in line with article 100 of the Provisional Somali Federal Constitution), and then replace them with anyone else without the parliament’s sanctioning. Through this loophole the President might reappoint his closest allies, including Farah Abdulkadir, Abdikarim Ghuled and Abdullahi Sanbaloshe, which doesn’t sit well with many MPs who consider them as personas non-grata since they were solely behind the “illegal” no-confidence motions against the last two prime ministers. Yet at least one BIG thing is new: there are now two major MP blocks or (kutlad) coalitions united for political purposes rather than the retrograde tribal blocks in the past that lacked a sense of national unity.

President Hassan Sheikh who at many times demanded the necessity of allowing Somali politics to naturally evolve without any outside interference, now that he’s on the receiving end of such rude awakening of internal implosion, he is reportedly in an incognito territory and doesn’t know how outmaneuver the new “kutlad” lawmaker coalition blocks trying to thwart his Dam-Jadid party’s long-term ambitions to dominate Somali politics in the future. This time around, President Hassan Sheikh is shocked to learn the hard way that the parliament has evolved and outgrown of his divide-and-rule with bribes, as it is reluctant approving the nominations of those closest to him bent on gearing the country in the wrong direction. Ironically, the alleged vote-buying of the MPs in the past has now the unintended consequence of hastening the political maturity of these legislators to unite in coalition blocks.

Now that the parliament is causing much angst to the President and his new Prime Minister, and the old “corrupt” ways of bribing the MPs has finally backfired, the President’s closest “Dam-Jadid” allies are found flat-footed and scrambling to pull new tricks out of their sleeves in order to achieve their long-term ambitious plan to sweep the upcoming elections in 2016. Most Somalis disapprove the constant political infighting between the president and his appointed prime ministers and now the parliament is joining in the political squabble, which could only mean that the road to 2016 national elections is paved with thorns and Somalia is set for a rough ride. Nevertheless, if Somalia is to become a true democracy, it cannot afford a one-party rule that bribes the rest into submission.

Finally, I’m not lost on the risk this latest political maneuver by the legislators could easily unravel the painstaking humanitarian, political and security progress made in the past three years in a country still hovering on the edge. Regardless, this is a transformational moment for the legislators who were many times accused of being bribed and undermined in order buy their votes. Those arguing that the legislators’ approval of the new cabinet of ministers outweighs of their grievances and other misgivings are undermining their role in the government’s check and balances system to limit powers over the other branches of government and could only become a welcome renaissance.

End of an Era: The Passing of Meles Zenawi

by Heikal I. Kenneded
Friday, August 24, 2012 

Somalia has seen plenty of turmoil for the last two decades, however, one figure has remained constant over these last two decades who influenced, meddled and decided the status quo of the Horn of Africa: the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. Most Somalis agree with Kenya's Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Honorable Farah Moalin’s assessment that Meles’s role in Somalia had always been unconstructive, which has contributed to the country’s precipice more than any other single figure inside or outside of the country. Many believe his illness for the past two months and now death is one of the main reasons that has facilitated the relatively smooth transition of power in Somalia to end the debilitating transition period. This will also likely have a positive impact on the emerging new government in Somalia to have a fresh start and pave a positive path forward to end the conflict and reunite the country. Indeed, the future of the Horn looks bright, but visionary leaders are required to capitalize on this rare opportunity to spread the significance of genuine peace and reconciliation amongst the peoples of the region.

Meles Zenawi who was declared dead on last Monday (though the rumor mills suggest hemay have died over a month ago) after suffering undisclosed illness; he was credited for major economic development in his country. He was also lionized by many in the West as the coming of age of new generational leaders in the African continent. In effect, Meles cunningly basked on this opportunity to align himself with the West by exploiting their so called “war against terrorism.” He then skillfully casted most neighboring countries in the Horn of Africa as either terrorist sponsoring or terrorist harboring states, including Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.

Meles Zenawi manipulated the West’s apprehensions about another failed Islamic country taking root in the Horn of Africa with the potential of harbouring Al Qaeda- linked terrorists.Hence,the United States backed him for his untimely incursion of Somalia’s capital in order to neutralize the leadership of the Union of Islamic Courts who was vying to rid Somalia the ruthless hegemony of incorrigible warlords.However, the atrocities resulting from the invasion of his forces is what brought into existence the hardcore Al-Shabab insurgents who recruited most of their ragtag guerrilla fighters from the south of Somalia, where most of the Ethiopian atrocities were committed during their failed invasion and thus capitalized on the anti-Ethiopian feelings.

At the end of the Cold War, which coincided with the successful overthrow of the brutal dictatorships in both Ethiopia and Somalia, genuine democracy had a great chance to take root in the Horn of Africa, until Somalia’s warmongering insurgent leaders plunged the country into an intractable civil war, while Meles felt the tyrannical urge to consolidate his power in Ethiopia for the sole benefit of keeping his reign. In fact, Meles Zenawi became notorious for his “evil genius” machinations of frequently manipulating the fledgling leaders in the Horn of Africa, especially those in Somalia, for the past two decades. He acted as though he was a benevolent mediator and regional leader, instead he constantly bid against one another to keep the status quo of Somalia.

Strangely, Meles Zenawi’s vision of a strong Ethiopia was based on weakening and destabilizing those of his neighbouring countries, especially Ethiopia’s historical archrival, Somalia. To his cunning credit, he had achieved keeping Somalia in constant civil-war while he rebuilt his country’s economy. Nevertheless, most agree he was inept enough to expect the fostering of a strong Ethiopian nation in a conflict ridden neighbourhood, where he capriciously capitalized on his position of fanning the fire among these nations. In his self-aggrandizing comportment, Meles was quintessentially an African “Big Man” who behaved and acted in every inch as the knowing all “smartest guy” in the Horn of Africa. But as a mere mortal amongst his peers, he forgot to use his protracted reign of East Africa’s most populous nation with good neighbourliness and act as a statesman of peace and development in the region.

Further, despite rebuilding his country’s economy, Meles Zenawi was no hero in Ethiopia either because he leda tyrannical regime known for its callous suppression of dissent by arresting and even killing many journalists and democratic activists. In fact, his regime’s human rights abuses were unparalleled in the region, but the West ignored and turned a blind eye on such crimes against his people, as long as he “helped” them in their “war against terror.” In other words, this was the ultimate attestation of the West’s hypocrisy when it came towards the promotion of good governance and reverence for human rights in the developing world.

For Somali it has been a long time coming. Now that Meles has passed away and his unhelpful meddling of Somali affairs has come to a halt, change for the better is expected in Somali politics, driven by reconciliation and nation rebuilding. In contrast, upheaval is anticipated in Ethiopia due to the unexpected passing of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who during his two decades of reign in Ethiopia marginalized the majority of the dominant ethnic groups, especially the Oromo people, which constitute the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. Thus the TPLF ruling party is confused and running amok to appease the masses in order to continue its grip of power.

In the future, when the roots of Somalia’s troubled history are analysed, Meles' legacy will be in the very darkest pages of the conflict in Somalia. In the end, whoever captures the helm of Ethiopia’s leadership will face a daunting task because it would be an impossible task to ever mend the damage he wreaked over the Horn of Africa, and the seeds of malaise he had sown among the neighboring countries in the region. Indeed, the death of Meles marks the end of a turbulent era in the Horn, mired with decades of conflict, instability and poverty.