Somaliland.Org

I was in Hargeisa last year when Mujahid Yusuf Gabobe was arrested for the articles Haatuf published. Abshir Hassan courageously confirmed on television everything that was quoted in that article and much more. Rhoda Rageh

In a bold move that made me think that probably he has come to his senses and was ready to leave office, Riyale called for a meeting of the two Houses and told them first that: a) they were not allowed to ask him questions and when they did b) insulted them c) then showed his most irresponsible and foolish self by saying that he is not going to leave office on May 15. Few things seem abnormal in this kind of attitude:

This is how my friend who is now there put it when I asked him about the events at home. He must have been feeling utterly frustrated and angry at the moment I asked him the question. Who wouldn’t be under the circumstances? I have the feeling my question must have offered him an alternative to shouting into the toilet. I lent an ear he can trust. Even to me, my friend’s message hit a spot.

Nearly all African societies suffer from not only ineffective governments but Presidents who refuse to leave office who throw their countries into civil war and almost always destroy their societies. Somaliland is not Zimbabwe and the two societies are profoundly different in their ethnic composition.