Political and security situations in Somalia continues to vitiate for the last two months. On Monday 12th April 2021 in the most dramatic and chaotic session the Somalia lower house voted to award the incumbent president Farmaajo a two years term extension. Before the bill was passed Major security changes were done which included unceremoniously dismissal of Mogadishu Police Commander Sadiq John and appointment of Colonel Farhan Qarole as the new police commander.
However, Sadiq’s dismissal is incomparable to the public outcry and concerns on his immediate replacement Colonel Farhan Qarole as the new police boss in-charge of Mogadishu police force. Colonel Farhan Qarole, a Turkish-trained officer is a former Al-Shabaab militant.
A number of Somali citizens turned into the social to express their displeasure with Colonel Farhan Qarole and lamented that Farmaajo whose mandate as President of Somalia expired on February 8 is now desperately turning to Al-Shabaab for security. Others expressed concerns that Farmaajo’s administration is slowly turning Somalia into a jihadist Caliphate calling on Allah’s guidance through this Ramadhan period.
In a press conference, Sadiq, who has been in charge of security in the capital Mogadishu, asked Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to take over responsibility of the country and send disputing sides “back to the tent” to reach a consensus on elections. “You should not sit around and take dictation, you should be dictating,” he said.
The latest replacement could now create rifts within the critical and weak Somalia security sector, which has been marred with allegations of bias, inconsistencies, and general disregard of the rule of law.
