SOMALIA-PRESIDENT IMPEACHMENT BID Somali lawmakers push for president impeachment as envoys urge resolution

Record ID: 143265

  • Title: SOMALIA-PRESIDENT IMPEACHMENT BID Somali lawmakers push for president impeachment as envoys urge resolution
  • Date: 21st August 2015
  • Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (FILE) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** MORE OF MPs IN PARLIAMENT
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA59LB1H1ZENK9V3SNUNRC32YJL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is facing tough times in office with a recent move by Somali lawmakers to impeach him - the latest crisis to threaten the country's stability as it struggles to rebound from two decades of chaos and war.
    Somali lawmakers last week filed an impeachment motion against Mohamud, accusing him of abuse of office and "betraying the country".
    The president's office said in a statement last week that Mohamud was aware of the motion and that the government respected parliament's role, but that lawmakers had more serious issues to debate ahead of the election.
    Under Somalia's constitution, at least 90 members of parliament have to sign a motion for it to be debated in parliament. To dismiss the president, two thirds of the 275 lawmakers would need to vote in favor of the motion.
    "Public property has been given out or sold to private individuals and companies. Thousands of families who were residing in public buildings have been evicted and the houses sold to private companies. The President is alleged to have authorized the sale," said Mohamed Abdulahi Fadhaye, a lawmaker.
    Professor Yahye Ali Ibrahim is head of the Somali International University; he says some lawmakers may have selfish interests in pushing for the impeachment.
    "MPs normally are critics like any other one. They have political ambitions. There are a lot of conflicts in Somali politics and it may not be that easy. However we believe that they have to right to protect their constituents which are normal Somali citizen like us but that is if it's their intention to do that that is fine. However from what I know from Somali politics it may not that straight forward, there are a lot of other thing involved because most of these people have got grudges against president and against prime minister because they have not been included in the last cabinet therefore they have taken arms against the president and his cabinet," he said.
    Donors have complained Mohamud's cash-strapped government is not doing enough to fight graft and say the theft of scarce government resources had frustrated efforts to build a functioning state.
    A 2013 corruption scandal involving the repatriation of overseas Somali state assets frozen at the outset of civil war in 1991 has further strained his relationship with donors.
    President Mohamud and those close to him have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Mohamud says he is committed to holding elections on time before his term runs out in August 2016.
    "The president is the symbol of the country if he had found to have breached of what they had accused him to have violated, he will definitely go. That will be the subject of high court because we do not have constitutional court. If the court finds that there is a base for the law for the motion to proceed that will happen and the parliament will vote on that and the president will leave because he will lose legitimacy," said Ibrahim.
    The fragile government is being backed by international aid aimed at preventing it from becoming a haven for al Qaeda-style militants in east Africa.
    Many Somalis are following the political events closely in a country attempting to rebuild itself after two decades of civil war and lawlessness.
    "The motion against president Hassan Sheikh is the right one to strip him of power but I am not sure how it is going to happen," said Hassan Mahamed Yalahow, a Mogadishu resident.
    "As we see the president's term is going to end and it is not the right time to bring motions against him which may create new problems and political unrest in the country and we are still in a state of recovery. We will lose what we have now," added Ali Nor, a Mogadishu resident.
    In a joint statement, the envoys of the United Nations, the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union, the United States and Britain have expressed concern that the impeachment effort would "impede progress" on Somalia's peace and state building goals.
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