Somalia expels UN envoy Nicholas Haysom, saying he ‘interfered in the country’s sovereignty’

By The Star Staff Writer

MOGADISHU – Somalia has banned the United Nations’ Envoy Nicholas Haysom from working in the Horn of Africa nation, accusing the seasoned South African diplomat of “deliberately” interfering in its sovereignty and of “openly” violating diplomatic ethics and norms.

While some Somalis welcomed the surprise move as a “brave” decision, others expressed concern over its future implications, with one outspoken Somali lawmaker calling it “suicidal and a big blow to the country’s efforts to recover from decades of chaos.”

The national government’s decision comes just two days after Haysom, who was appointed to the position last September, wrote a letter to Somalia’s internal security ministry, demanding that it provide answers for 12 questions about the circumstances that led to last month’s arrest of former Islamist leader, Mukhtar Robow, and his subsequent detention without trial as well as the deaths of 17 people in the western Somali city of Baidoa.

“The Somali government informs the United Nations secretary general that Nicholas Haysom, secretary-general’s special representative, is unwelcome and can’t work in the country,” said a two paragraph statement from the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation on Tuesday.

It said the ministry reached the decision after Haysom “openly violated ethics and norms suitable for the United Nations’ Somalia office and deliberately interfered in the country’s sovereignty.”

Mohamed Haji Ingiriis, a Somali analyst and PhD student at Oxford University, called the government’s move an “impulsive act at best and suicidal at worst.”

“The unsaid, selfish aim of the government in Mogadishu is to get a free hand to oust rebel regional administrators and anoint its stooges in their places, so as they help it in rigging the upcoming 2020 elections,” said Ingiriis. “The government’s decision to expel Haysom has nothing to do with Somalia’s sovereignty. It’s purely a political and selfish decision.”

The relationship between Somalia’s national government and foreign diplomats operating in the capital, Mogadishu, has grown inflamed after Ethiopian forces arrested Robow to scuttle his bid to vie for a regional office in the southwestern region. The former Islamist’s arrest has sparked three days of deadly protests in Baidoa city that claimed at least 17 people, according to Haysom.

In his letter dated Dec. 30^th, Haysom asked the Somali government to explain the laws it used to arrest Robow and the steps it took to obtain an order to detain him beyond the 48 hours provided for in Somalia’s criminal code.

Haysom also asked the Somali government to illuminate the measures it took to prevent the civilian casualties that occurred in Baidoa during last month’s demonstrations.

“If action has not yet been taken, I urge that the matter be thoroughly and promptly investigated and that appropriate action is taken to hold any perpetrators, including officers, accountable,” he said.

Haysom wrote similar letters to the AU mission in the country and the Ethiopian Embassy in Mogadishu, requesting information about “what actions have been carried out to investigate their involvement in the allegations and provide feedback on the findings of any inquiry that the AMISOM and Ethiopia should undertake in this regard.”

The Somali decision to expel a U.N. diplomat is certain to send shockwaves throughout opposition groups in the country, with lawmaker Abdifatah Ismael Tahir already predicting tough times for opposition figures.

“The government wants to silence all sorts of critics, whether they’re Somalis or foreigners,” he told The Somalia Star.

“It’s suicidal and a big blow to the country’s efforts to recover from decades of chaos. It was irresponsible decision and diplomatic blunder on the part of the Somali government,” said Tahir, who is also the spokesman for a group of rebel lawmakers who call themselves National Salvation Caucus. “The U.N. envoy was fulfilling his mandate when he demanded answers for what happened in Baidoa.

“Will our government also expel the EU, Germany and UK Ambassadors whose countries suspended their support for local security forces in South West State,” he said.

Pro-government Twitter users hailed the Somali government’s decision, with Yahya Mohamed Guled tweeting: “Another brave forward step…”

Hassan Hussein, another Twitter user, who reacted to the ministry of foreign affairs’ tweet about its decision, said: “Great to hear this news, it is right decision and right time.”

The Ministry’s statement brought to light the frosty relations between Mogadishu and Haysom, whose candid, 5-page letter cast aspersions on the government’s claim that its security forces arrested Robow and second-questioned authorities’ excuses to indefinitely hold the former Islamist without charge or trial.

“The detention of Mukhtar Robow appears to be arbitrary,” Haysom wrote in his letter to the internal security minister, Mohamed Abukar Islow, quoting from the nation’s constitution, which states that every “person who is arrested has the right to be brought before a competent court within 48 hours of the arrest.”

Haysom said he felt compelled to write the letter to the Somali government because Human Rights Due Diligence Policy “requires U.N. entities providing support to Somali security forces to immediately investigate incidents that have implications under the policy and to bring allegations to the attention of concerned Somali authorities at the federal and regional level.”

He said he received a joint letter from the European Union, Germany and the United Kingdom announcing the suspension of their support to the southwestern region’s security forces because of concerns with their conduct during the recent election in the region and remarks made by the area’s police commissioner in which he said in an interview a day before Robow’s arrest, “I want to tell you that if you participate in a demonstration that we were not informed (about) and you support something bad, we will shoot you in the a** and the law allows for them (police) to kill you (demonstrators).”

Haysom says the commissioner’s remarks were reportedly related to the Dec. 11 protests in Baidoa that was linked to a now dropped impeachment motion against President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo.

Haysom’s letter confutes government’s assertion that Somali forces arrested Robow, saying, “according to credible sources,” Robow was arrested by the Ethiopian forces under the African Union mission in Baidoa.

“It is understood that he (Robow) was briefly detained in the AMISOM Sector headquarters and then handed over to Somali security forces,” Haysom said.

He added that the director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, for Baidoa city and the regions’ police commissioner were reportedly present when Robow was placed on a plane and flown to Mogadishu, where he’s being detained by NISA in an undisclosed location.

The National Salvation Caucus welcomed Haysom’s letter and said it reminded “the Somali government of its domestic and international responsibilities to safeguard human rights, exercise its authority in conformance with the law and provide explanations about the atrocities committed in Baidoa and the illegal detention of Mukhtar Robow.”

The group, however, “noted with regret the silence of the United States about the recent disturbing political developments in Somalia particularly the federal government’s breach of domestic and international laws governing human rights and democracy.”

The group urged the U.S. “to live up to its value by making its stand clear on the government’s repeated violations against the human, civic and political rights in our country.”

It added: “We believe that this will show the Somali public that the US friendship and resumption of diplomatic presence in Somalia goes beyond individuals in power…(and will be) mutually advantageous (and) sustainable relationship between our two countries and people.”

The Somali government’s decision came on the same day that seven mortars tossed by the Shabab militant group landed inside the U.N. compound in Mogadishu, injuring two U.N. staff members and one contractor.

“None of the injuries is life-threatening” Haysom said in a statement before the news of his expulsion filtered in. He wished “wounded colleagues a full recovery from their injuries.”

“No political agenda can be served through violence that deliberately targets staff members of international organizations who are supporting the consolidation of peace and the strengthening of governing institutions in Somalia,” Haysom said.