Somali Piracy Leader Mohamed Afweyne Comes Back to Mogadishu After Ten Years in Belgian Prison
Mogadishu (AX) – Making headlines once more, entrepreneur Mohamed Abdi Afweyne, known for his infamous involvement in piracy, has finally returned to Mogadishu. After enduring over ten years behind bars in Belgium, following piracy-related charges brought by Belgium’s government, his homecoming was monumental.
Described as the ‘mastermind’ behind Somali piracy, Afweyne was caught up in a high-profile arrest in 2013. Belgian authorities orchestrated a cunning sting operation, enticing him under the guise of a documentary advisory role, only to nab him upon his arrival in Brussels. His eventual companion in crime, Mohamed Aden Tiiceey, a past governor of Himan and Heeb, was also arrested. The charges stemmed from the notorious 2009 hijack of the Pompei, a Belgian dredging ship.
Speaking eagerly after his release, Afweyne recounted the harsh conditions of his imprisonment. “The cell was tiny and suffocating,” he mentioned, reflecting the tough nature of his punishment.
The capture of Afweyne marked a pivotal point in the global quest to curb Somali piracy, a menace that had plagued trade routes for years. At its zenith in 2011, this piracy scourge drained a staggering $7 billion annually from the global economy, with $160 million funneled through ransom deals. Afweyne’s syndicate was implicated in some of the era’s most bold hijackings, like the capture of the massive Saudi oil tanker, Sirius Star, in 2008, and the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship laden with Soviet-era tanks.
Initially, many pirates, Afweyne included, justified their actions as guardians against illegal fishing in Somali waters. But this narrative swiftly morphed into a well-established criminal industry. Afweyne, notorious for his cross-clan recruitment strategy, trained his band of pirates in Northeastern State, transforming Somalia’s shores into treacherous waters where no vessel dared to navigate.
The Belgian sting that led to Afweyne’s capture demonstrated a novel approach to a daunting problem: pirate leaders often operated out of reach in Somalia, seemingly immune from international law enforcement. Johan Delmulle, a federal prosecutor, shed light on the operation: “We posed as documentary filmmakers, gaining trust over months,” he detailed. This elaborate ruse ultimately convinced Tiiceey to draw Afweyne into the phony project.
Despite the triumph of his capture, Afweyne’s return to Mogadishu painted a divided picture. Some local leaders and elders lauded his return, while others worried about the shadow his piracy past cast over Somalia’s global image. His criminal network inflicted monumental suffering on countless seafarers, detained for months in dismal conditions, while simultaneously damaging Somalia’s international standing.
Intriguingly, before his incarceration in 2013, Afweyne announced a surprising retirement from piracy, claiming he dissuaded 120 others from pursuing the same path. Critics scoffed, suggesting this was a mere strategic retreat in response to declining spoils amidst heightened global naval defenses and measures.
Indeed, the international community retaliated fiercely against the piracy menace, amping up naval patrols, equipping vessels with armed guards, and enhancing tracking technology. Such measures reduced the number of successful hijackings drastically—from 24 ships in 2011 to a mere seven in 2012. Analysts attributed the mounting capture risks as a probable cause for Afweyne’s declared exit.
Nonetheless, the complexities of prosecuting pirates endure, mired by jurisdictional hurdles, trial costs, and tepid cooperation from Somali authorities. Afweyne allegedly navigated these shark-infested waters with political protection, even rumored to have obtained a diplomatic passport under former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
