DJIBOUTI – President Ismail Omar Guelleh touched down in Djibouti on Sunday, quelling rumors and murmurings about his health. His reappearance soothed a nation where citizens had been nervously chattering about his unexplained disappearance.
The presidential office shared that Guelleh had embarked on a private journey to France, offering scant details on the nature of his trip. Historically, France, the erstwhile colonizer of Djibouti, exerts significant sway over the region bordering the Red Sea.
Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Djibouti’s minister of economy and finance, brandished the reports suggesting Guelleh’s critical ailment and recent hospitalization as “wild assertions and malicious fabrications”.
Affirming the president’s robust health, Dawaleh acknowledged Guelleh’s prolonged struggle with a troublesome right knee, which had previously necessitated surgery overseas. The claims of his hospitalization were labeled as pure fabrications.
“Sorry, dissenters,” Dawaleh fired back, “President Ismail is perfectly in shape. It’s one thing to not favor a leader, but spreading venom, lies, and even wishing harm on another human being is another level of detestable behavior,” emphasized the minister, a staunch ally of Guelleh.
He added, “Yes, he has a knee problem. So? At the end of the day, he’s as human as any of us. Doom-mongers should feel ashamed,” Dawaleh posted on his social media account, urging the populace to remain calm.
Speculations on social media suggested the president had been rushed to Paris due to a grave illness, with internet disruptions in Djibouti purportedly designed to stifle the spread of updates about his condition. Guelleh has been at the helm of the country since 1999.
Notably, Guelleh was missing from last week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, where global leaders congregated for the 78th Assembly. Djibouti, while relatively tranquil, operates under a rather autocratic system where opposition voices are often stifled.
AXADLETM
