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           Leadership Dispute Threatens Stability, Peace in Jubaland

   by Mohammed Yusuf

   The Somali port city of Kismayo is in political crisis as two former
   warlords are both claiming to be president of the newly created
   Jubaland region of southern Somalia. Fears are growing that the rivalry
   could lead to an outbreak of violence. The Somali government still
   maintains it doesn't recognize the two leaders.
   The political division in southern Somalia still continues after more
   than six months of negotiations to elect local authorities to govern
   the regions of Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba.
   On Wednesday, 495 delegates meeting in Kismayo elected Ras Kamboni
   militia leader Ahmed Madobe as the president of Jubaland, over four
   other candidates.
   But another former warlord, Barre Hirale, who controlled Kismayo for
   close to nine years, has said he was elected at a separate conference
   of elders.
   "In a conference, which was going on for some time, I was elected as
   the president of Jubaland," said Hirale. "In that conference 600
   delegates attended and 500 voted for me. Because of that I have become
   the president of Jubaland."
   Returning warlord
   Hirale was chased out of Kismayo by al-Shabab militants - when Ahmed
   Madobe was a top commander in the group. He returned to Kismayo last
   month by sea with dozens of loyal soldiers.
   Abdi Mohamed Yarow is an elder with the Hawiye clan, which is in the
   minority in Kismayo. He was present at the swearing-in ceremony and
   told VOA the elders had appointed Hirale as their president.

    "Today we were at the swearing-in ceremony of the president of
   Jubaland state Barre Hirale,' Yarow said. "We have decided to make him
   [Madobe] our president and we have just done that, he is the president
   of Jubaland."
   Some sections of the Somali population have expressed concerns over the
   recent threats of violence in the city and its environs concerning this
   dispute over who should be president.
   Seeking solutions
   Ahmed Soliman, Horn of Africa researcher at Chatham House, a foreign
   policy institute in London, said to avoid a return of violence in the
   region, both militias from the two rival camps need to be integrated
   into the Somali national army.

   "What we are talking about is eventually, militia being reintegrated
   into Somali national force. That's a way of stemming potential conflict
   in the future, but it very much has to come off the back of political
   process and I do see political process is in complete and it would
   continue," said Soliman.
   He also said that after months of negotiations, people can't be too
   impatient. Soliman noted the process will take time, and he said that
   expressing fears is not the right way forward.
   "I think there is need to take time, and to asses and to negotiate
   properly with all the stakeholders. It does seem to me there are a lot
   of stakeholders involved, and that's a good thing, and that means it
   takes longer to achieve consensus," he said.
   The government in Mogadishu has expressed concerns about the roles
   played in Jubaland by some stakeholders, particularly by the Kenyan
   government. Kenya has been accused of backing the Ras Kamboni leader,
   Ahmed Madobe, who helped Kenyan forces to liberate Kismayo last year.
   The Somali federal government has refused to recognize any leadership
   appointments in Jubaland, deeming the process unconstitutional.
   A sixteen-member committee appointed by the prime minister to look into
   the Jubaland issue arrived Thursday in Kismayo.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/leadership-dispute-threatens-stabilit
   y-and-peace-in-jubaland/1662269.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/leadership-dispute-threatens-stability-and-peace-in-jubaland/1662269.html