Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Thursday overturned Prime Minister Hussein Roble’s decision to expel an African Union envoy over misconduct, signaling a new rift between the two leaders, reported Reuters.
Prime Minister Roble had expelled the African Union representative Francisco Madeira for engaging in acts that are incompatible with his status. Mr. Madeira is the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson for Somalia (SRCC). He was appointed to the AU position in 2015.
In a statement, he said that the AU representative had 48 hours to leave the country. He gave no details of the alleged acts of misconduct. The move came five months after Madeira’s deputy, Ugandan diplomat Simon Mulongo, was also asked to leave the country after being accused of similar acts last year.
Somalia’s presidency said on Twitter it “has received no complaints of interference with its sovereignty & doesn’t endorse any illegal action against Amb. Francisco Madeira”.
It said President Farmajo has instructed the foreign ministry to apologize to the AU over the “illegitimate and reckless decision from an unauthorized office”.
It added that the foreign policy is not anchored on emotions and vested interests against Mr. Madeira.
The counteraction comes amid a long-running fractious relationship between Somalia’s President Farmajo and the prime minister.
Political tensions between the two have been blamed for delays in concluding parliamentary elections that have been running since last February. The elections were supposed to be completed before President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s term expired in February 2021.
Last week, the UN Security Council voted unanimously for a new peacekeeping force for the Horn of Africa nation, where Al-Shabaab insurgents have been seeking to overthrow the fragile government for more than a decade.
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) replaces the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which was created by the Security Council in 2007.
