KISMAYO, Somalia | The incumbent Jubaland security minister Abdirashid Janaan has been formally fired after switching allegiance to the Mogadishu administration, despite working closely with the regional government under President Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe.
Several sources had suggested to Axadlethat Janan, who hails from the Gedo region, was planning to formally move his loyalty to outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, with whom he had disagreed.
And Jubaland, who apparently had intelligence reports, fired him on Wednesday, ending a long tie with a man who has defended the regional government against the attack planned and executed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
Although details of Janan’s decision to join the federal government remain a top secret, it is understood, however, that Farmajo may have used the situation to further neutralize Jubaland, which has strongly opposed plans to dismantle federalism.
By 2019, Farmajo had temporarily arrested Janan and locked him up for nearly five months in jail. Later, however, he would get help from insiders who helped him escape from prison, taking him to temporary shelter in Nairobi and later in Mandera.
In Mandera, he has often been accused of organizing fighters who have been exposed to the Somali National Army. [SNA].
The movement comes at a time when the country is struggling to reach a ceasefire over the upcoming election, which has now been delayed for several months. Both the opposition and the federal government have yet to decide the election model.
AXADLETM
