Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi has sacked his information minister, seen as too close to powerful Somali warlords, amid a deepening split in the fledging transitional government still exiled in Kenya, officials said on Tuesday.
Gedi fired Mohamoud Abdullahi Jama over the weekend during an official visit to Addis Ababa, presidential spokesperson Yusuf Ismail BariBari said.
The government, which was formed in Kenya last year following lengthy and convoluted peace talks, is planning to relocate to the Horn of Africa nation, amid disagreement over the destination and timing of the actual relocation.
”The prime minister issued a decree sacking Jama and it was accepted by the President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed,” BariBari said.
Gedi named Mohamed Ibrahim Hayr as the new information minister, according to officials in Nairobi, but it is not clear whether the premier will garner enough support in Parliament to endorse his fresh appointment.
Officials said Jama was sacked because of his close links to powerful warlords in Mogadishu, who want the government to relocate there, against the wishes of Yusuf and Gedi who have secured parliamentary approval to relocate to the south-western town of Baidoa and to Jowhar, just north of Mogadishu.
The sacking highlights the widening split in the government, tasked with restoring stability in Somalia, which has been wracked by anarchy since the 1991 violent ouster of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.
According to the Somali transitional charter, a sort-of Constitution, Jama retains his position as the deputy prime minister until Parliament votes him out of office.
The sacking of Jama, who enjoys support from powerful Somali warlords, came on Sunday, a day after he launched a major drive to disarm gunmen in Mogadishu and vowed to transform the city into a safe home for the government, if and when it chooses to relocate.
Somalia, a nation of up to 10-million people, has been governed by unruly warlords since 1991. More than 14 attempts to restore a functional national administration have failed. — Sapa-AFP