Somalia court lifts arrest warrant for Jubbaland leader Ahmed Madobe, clearing path to Mogadishu talks
MOGADISHU — A court in Mogadishu has annulled an arrest warrant for Jubbaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe, removing a key legal barrier ahead of a national political dialogue that the federal government plans to open on Feb. 1.
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In a decision finalized Jan. 29 and communicated in an official letter released Thursday, the Banadir Regional Court revoked all arrest and production orders tied to a criminal case registered under reference MGB/DCL/1531/2024. The court said the revocation was grounded in provisions of the Somali Penal Code and the Provisional Constitution, citing Articles 70(1)(b)(2), 76, 77 and 107(3), and that all previous legal measures related to the case were nullified.
The court emphasized that its move was intended to uphold the rule of law and protect the legal rights and obligations of judicial institutions, adding that procedures were carried out in accordance with national legislation. The ruling effectively clears the way for Madobe, a powerful regional figure and frequent rival of federal authorities, to travel to the capital and participate in talks that officials say are designed to ease political tensions.
The federal government has billed the Mogadishu consultations as a broad-based dialogue with opposition figures and regional stakeholders aimed at reinforcing national unity, shoring up social cohesion and advancing a democratic process anchored in compromise. The talks are expected to bring together federal leaders and the Somali Future Council, an opposition alliance, with an agenda centered on disputes over elections and governance.
The timing underscores the stakes. Diplomats and Somali political analysts have repeatedly warned that failure to reach consensus on an electoral framework as current mandates near their end could reopen rifts between federal and regional actors, undermine recent security gains against militant groups and stall the country’s fragile state-building effort.
Madobe’s legal status has long been entangled with Somalia’s center–periphery tensions. As president of Jubbaland, a strategically important federal member state, he has been at the heart of disputes over authority, security coordination and election administration. The court’s decision to lift the warrant marks a potentially significant step toward lowering the temperature ahead of the latest attempt at dialogue.
While the court did not disclose new details about the underlying case beyond its reference number, its statement framed the ruling as a corrective intended to align procedures with constitutional and statutory guarantees. Legal observers say such clarifications can be decisive in politically charged cases, where due process concerns often intersect with high-stakes negotiations between the center and federal member states.
Government officials have said the Feb. 1 gathering in Mogadishu is designed to ensure citizens’ voices play a central role in shaping the political calendar and that any transition plan is rooted in consensus. By nullifying the orders that had restricted Madobe’s movement, the court removed one of the most immediate obstacles to making those talks as inclusive as advertised.
Whether the ruling translates into durable political progress will hinge on what emerges from the negotiating table in the coming days, including concrete steps toward an agreed electoral pathway. For now, the legal reset offers a pragmatic opening: it enables one of Somalia’s most influential regional leaders to join a conversation that many allies and critics alike say is overdue.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
