Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble ordered Thursday, April 7, the expulsion of the representative of the African Union (AU) in the country, Francisco Madeira, giving him 48 hours to leave the national territory.
This character was declared « persona non grata for having engaged in acts incompatible with his status as a representative of the African Union Commission », says a press release from the Prime Minister’s office, without specifying the nature of these acts.
However, this decision may not be carried out due to the opposition of the Head of State, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, who described the expulsion as « illegal ».
The President « has not received any complaint about interference in his sovereignty and does not approve of any illegal action against Ambassador Francisco Madeira », says a press release from the presidency which also underlines that « Farmajo is the guardian and guarantor of the sovereignty of the country.
As if to appease the AU, the presidency instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to “convey the apologies of the federal government” to the pan-African organization “for the illegitimate and reckless decision of an unauthorized service” in this context.
Will Francisco Madeira escape expulsion? The next few days will tell. As a reminder, his deputy had suffered this fate a few months earlier, still for breaches of status.
Mohamed Hussein Roble and Farmajo are distinguished by their disagreements on various subjects including that of the elections which are at the origin of an institutional crisis in the country. Somalia is struggling to organize the presidential election, while Farmajo’s mandate has ended in principle since February 2021.
By OMA Newsletter N° 662 of 08/04/2022
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