Pirate Kingpin Afweyne Returns to Mogadishu After Belgian Jail Term

[Deeq A.]

Afweyne said that he had no grievances against anyone regarding his arrest in Belgium.

Mogadishu (Commentary ) — One month ago, Mogadishu welcomed Mohamed Abdi (aka Afweyne), a former pirate kingpin. He served half of his jail sentence after a court in Belgium found him guilty of piracy off the Somali coast. He thanked the Somali embassy staff in Brussels for regularly visiting him.

While visiting a prisoner is an obligation typically fulfilled by relatives and friends, the fact that Somali embassy staff regularly visited Afweyne in jail highlighted the personalised nature of the Somali embassies. The case of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s son, who drove an embassy vehicle and caused the death of a Turkish citizen, comes to mind.

Belgian authorities entrapped Afweyne and his facilitator, Mohamed Adan Tiiceey, who once ruled Ximin & Xeeb, a principality in Galmudug. Belgian police officers, impersonating film producers, approached Afweyne, claiming they were planning to shoot a film about pirates, a film almost like Captain Phillips, which was a box-office success. Afweyne was persuaded to act as a consultant for the project. Belgian authorities then organised his itinerary to Nairobi, where he and his interpreter, Tiiceey, were issued visas to Belgium.

Upon arrival in Brussels, Belgian detectives informed Afweyne and Tiiceey “you are under arrest for piracy crimes, and lawyers will represent you in court” The only incontrovertible evidence against Afweyne was the 2013 press conference he held in Cadaado, where he publicly declared his retirement from piracy in Somalia. The announcement made prime-time news worldwide. The countryside of Cadaado  was also where a British woman, Judith Tebbutt, was held hostage by pirates after being abducted from a Kenyan tourist resort, where her husband, David Tebbutt, had been killed.

Afweyne ran a pirate racket that once introduced a piracy stock exchange, where investors bought stakes to finance attacks on ships. Investors shared the ransom paid by shipping companies to release hostages.

In Mogadishu, Afweyne stated that he had no grievances against anyone regarding his arrest. Upon retiring from piracy, he pledged to work with authorities to combat piracy in Somalia. His apparent repentance and willingness to help fight piracy contributed to his release. However, his press conference ultimately became the key evidence the Belgian court used to convict him. 

© Puntland Post, 2025

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