Maritime Case Win Sparks Blame Game in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — Basking in the afterglow of a maritime case win Somalis have been treated to separate parties thrown in Villa Somalia and by Presidential Candidates in Mogadishu. It was an opportunity for the former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Minister and Presidential Candidate Abdirahman Abdishakur to set the record straight over the decision to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Kenya twelve years ago.

Abdirahman Abdishakur claimed he never questioned the sincerity of Sharmarke who instructed him to sign a historic MoU with Kenya.

“I became aware of the MoU when Abdirahman Abdishakur had told me that Omar Abdirashid, [the Prime Minister], had instructed him to sign the MoU” said Sharif last night at an event to celebrate the International Court of Justice’s judgement on the maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia.

Abdirahman Abdishakur on his part added a new twist to the MoU saga: “The Prime Minister contacted me while I was out of the country and instructed me to sign the MoU with Kenya. I took his instructions on trust” said Abdirahman Abdishakur at the same venue.

Former President Sharif Sheikh admitted to becoming aware of the MoU when it had been signed although he criticised the transitional parliament for making the MoU null and void through a vote by MPs.

Irked by the Presidential Candidates’ narrative on the MoU, Omar Abdirashid pointed out that President Sharif had a role in the decision to sign the MoU with Kenya, as attested by his criticism of a parliamentary motion that annulled the MoU.

Sharmarke tweeted that President Sharif was aware of the MoU.

“For clarity sake, Pres Sheikh Sharif was part of the decision making process to endorse the MOU that made the difference in our case. The danger of denying it, will set a precedence in which Pres Formajo tomorrow might deny knowing anything about the Qalbidhagax saga and so on…” tweeted Sharmarke.

“Sharif and Abdishakur have owned up to gullibility in an attempt to portray Sharmarke as a traitor” said Ahmed Ali, a political commentator in Mogadishu.

In a 2016 interview Sharif claimed he had become aware of the MoU only after it had been signed in Nairobi. Norway drafted the MoU, Sharmarke told reporters in Garowe in 2016.

© Puntland Post, 2021

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