Mogadishu under lockdown ahead of House debate on motion against Jawari

[Deeq A.]

Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu is under a complete security lockdown on Wednesday morning with major roads closed ahead of the House session to debate on the impeachment motion against embattled House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari.

Hundreds of security forces have been deployed around the parliament as the setting of the House is expected to start in the forthcoming hours.

The motion which was submitted to the Parliamentary leadership last month has created sharp division among the lawmakers with the top leadership of the House at loggerheads over the impeachment motion.

The negotiation effort to ease the political stand-off collapsed over the weekend leading to the First Deputy Speaker to call for a session to decide the fate of Mohamed Osman Jawari.

Hiiraan Online was learned that the two opposing factions, the pro-Jawari MPs and the Proponents of the motion are gathering at the Parliament building with their agendas. The Pro-Jawari camp may try to table the Beled-Hawa border dispute issue before the impeachment motion.

Mohamed Osman Jawari, the speaker of House has called today’s session to debate on the motion against him as a plan engineered by the President.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Jawari accused President Farmajo of ‘dishonesty’ saying he has been pleading with him (Jawari) to step down, but that he refused. Jawari has previously said that he became House Speaker by the ballot, and he shall only be ousted in a legal manner.

High profile events in Mogadishu are usually marked by a complete security lockdown of the city. These events – such as the Presidential election or inauguration – are usually attended by Mogadishu’s political elite and prominent foreign dignitaries. Parliamentary sessions, despite sometimes being politically charged, are usually not events that call for a security lockdown of the city.

Source: Hol