Roble’s Media Coup Reflected in News Blackout Against Villa Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) —Prime Minister of Somalia Mohamed Hussein Roble has ordered Radio Mogadishu and Somali National Television managers not to report on appointmentss made by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “It reminds me of General Aidid, when he captured Radio Mogadishu during 1990s” said Ali Adan, a news reporter in Mogadishu. “Roble has damaged his reputation as a statesman. He chose the path of a warlord” added Adan.

Roble’s capture of the state’s media organs to authorise a news blackout against President Mohamed (left) amounts to an attempted coup d’état.

The matter was subtly addressed by the Commander of Somali Police Force Major General Abdi Hassan Hijar, who urged the media to play a positive role and avoid spreading disinformation and misinformation.

The relations between the President and Prime Minister soured following the suspension of the former national intelligence agency director Fahad Yasin by Roble.

The Police Commander Hijar tweeted about a security meeting attended by the acting intelligence director Yasin Abdullahi.

A photo of the new acting intelligence director Yasin Abdullahi with commanders of the police force, the army, and custodial corps has emerged, a development seen by many as indication that Lieutenant General Bashir Gobe, whom Roble had appointed to replace Fahad, is reluctant to be dragged into the political turmoil. The Police Commander tweeted about the meeting.

“If Roble has taken over the national media, his actions amount to treason and an attempted coup d’état. We have to call a spade a spade” said a Mogadishu-based lawyer who spoke to Puntland Post on the condition of anonymity.

The Former President of Somalia Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh today urged Somali leaders to prevent Mogadishu from going to through “tribulations similar to the 1991 debacle.”

© Puntland Post, 2021

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