The Kormeeraha team chose to shine the spotlight on Mr. Mohamed Abib for our January Personality for his imprint on Somaliland politics representing the voiceless.
Mohamed Abib is an outspoken politician who now sits in the lower house of the self-declared Somaliland entity in northern Somalia. He was elected last year to the Somaliland parliament in Hargeisa representing the Wadani party.
In October, Abib rose to prominence in the southern regions for being the only politician in the northern provinces to condemn the roundups and evictions of Southwest Somali communities living in Las Anod..
Last August, he defended Abdimalik Coldoon’s right to express freely and called his arrest illegal and an abuse of power.
Very eloquent, he was known in his home town of Borama for his remarks against the Hargeisa establishment regarding the political and economic alienation of his community and the use of police brutality in the region.
He was placed in detention several times for protesting against the lack of rights and freedoms, the embezzlement of funds intended for his region and other abuses of power by the Hargeisa authorities.
In 2020, he supported and mentored Borama youth in their “Power Sharing” movement which demands equality in law in a so-called “republic” which gives the lion’s share to the clan which dominates Somaliland.
Young people, abandoned by their elders and politicians, dispersed under repression but their movement sparked a surge of political awareness and civil rights.
Disappointed, Abib gave up protesting outside the system of Hargeisa and presented himself willy-nilly in an exclusionary democracy against which he had fiercely fought.
Now, Mohamed Abib leads his fight directly into the wolf pit and has stood out for being a voice for the voiceless and for his relentlessness against state repression, mismanagement and corruption.
A few weeks ago, he was heckled in parliament in Hargeisa for insisting on using his parliamentary rights to challenge Somaliland’s opaque 2022 budget.
For the first time, a parliamentarian dared to ask the right questions about the many financial embezzlements and other shadowy business taking place in this separatist-dominated region.
We commend his fearless interventions in favor of those who are deprived of their rights, the sincerity in his actions and his leadership.
Thanks to him, this region is entering a new era of accountability which will eventually lead to a broader debate.
