Eye on Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya police arrested 12 Somali nationals in the northeastern city of Garissa on Saturday, a senior police chief confirmed, and they will be arrested in court for explaining the motive behind their trip to the East African country without proper documentation. The 12 foreigners are said to have sneaked across the porous border without valid documentation, the official said in an incident that raises questions about the country's effectiveness in managing the borders, which has been an elephant in…

JOWHAR, Somalia - A regional minister was assassinated by unknown assailants in Somalia on Thursday night, senior officials confirmed in the latest wave of violence targeting security forces and state officials, usually constructed by the infamous Al-Shabaab militants. Nur Hashi Abdulle was killed on the spot by unknown assailants as he left the mosque in Jowhar, the regional administrative capital of the state of HirShabelle, in what analysts condemned as security lapses, which could further raise questions among…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A plane registered in Kenya crashed at Aden Adde International Airport on Saturday morning, Somali authorities said, adding that the plane had taken off before crashing inside the airport zone, in an incident that added rising aviation accidents in Somalia. Reports show that two of the four crew members were seriously injured, but they have since been stabilized at a Mogadishu hospital. The plane is owned by Silverstone Airlines, an aviation advertising company operating in East Africa, an…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's main opposition groups have welcomed a pre - election agreement signed on Thursday by a number of stakeholders, further closing a growing gap that could have derailed efforts to restore peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. Interestingly, the agreement was only signed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, five regional leaders, and Mogadishu Mayor Omar Filish, who convened the conference. The opposition team was not invited to the dialogue, which was also endorsed by the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia will now go to the polls starting in November this year, a section of senior stakeholders said on Thursday, weeks after a series of meetings in Dhusamareb and Mogadishu, mediated by members of the international community and local actors, amid simmering political tensions. Initially, deep suspicions among the political elites had literally stopped the dialogue, with federal states and the opposition accusing President Farmajo of devising a strategy to extend his term after approving the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo nominated Mohamed Hussein Roble for a substantial prime minister almost 56 days after the unprecedented removal of Hassan Ali Khaire, who has since declared interest in the country's presidency, effectively ending the long wait. Khaire, an oil leader, was ousted from office in which critics related to endless political conflicts in Somalia, with sources suggesting that his pressure for timely elections may have cost him his job. The former Prime…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - An Al-Shabaab defector believed to have taken part in the US naval base at Manda Airfield earlier this year in coastal Kenya has been convicted by a Somali military court in yet another dramatic performance showing efficiency in the internal systems of Horn Africa nation. The outspoken head of the military court, Colonel Hassan Ali Nor convicted Farhan Mohamud Hassan, who had served in the militant group for years before his departure, in a lawsuit exposing infiltration into government…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Soldiers affiliated with the National Intelligence Security Agency , Somalia's spy agency, organized a mutiny in the streets of Mogadishu on Wednesday, citing lack of payments and responsiveness from the government as some of the underlying factors that necessitated their actions. The about 100 soldiers marched in the streets of Mogadishu, causing a temporary traffic jam as they criticized their employer, the Somali federal government, for deliberately shifting resources to political campaigns…

NAIROBI - Somali money transfer companies have moved more than $ 3.7 million in cash between suspected arms dealers in recent years, including to a Yemeni under U.S. sanctions for alleged militant links, according to a report seen by Reuters. The findings of a Geneva-based research group, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, could further complicate Somali transfer companies' attempts to maintain access to international banking services. Although they provide a lifeline to millions in the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's hopes for a systematic and credible electoral process have been given a huge boost, with several sources entrusting Axadlefollowing agreements on various contentious issues that almost threatened to tear the country apart in recent months. In the last two weeks, leaders of the federal member states and leaders of the federal government have been drawn in over the model and date of elections, where the representation of the Banadir and Somaliland regions is also in the controversy. And…