File Photo/Somali Times
According to reliable sources from outgoing president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s advisors told Somali Times Farmajo and Fahad Yasin are paying foreign hackers to hack Somali outlet media who write critical articles and those hackers are mercenaries based in Bangladesh, Russia, Seychelles, Europe and US according to our sources.
Moreover, Somalia’s economy has suffered significantly since Mohamed Farmajo became president in 2017. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of security have only made things worse, and the government has turned a blind eye to Al-Shabab’s extortion of businesses and locals.
This is despite the fact that the region of Benadir, which includes Mogadishu, is the only one that directly pays taxes to the Federal Government of Somalia. Somalia remains an aid-dependent nation and its government has lost revenue in the form of supplemental and budgetary support from the EU and the U.S. due to excessive corruption.
Moreover, the government has mismanaged taxpayers’ money, using it to bribe politicians and local tribal chiefs to support Mohamed Farmajo and finance lobbyists to polish its image. This caused local businesses to revolt and call for merchants and residents in Benadir to stop paying taxes to Farmajo.
The people of Somalia and the residents of Mogadishu in particular have run out of patience with Mohamed Farmajo. He has turned their city into an open-air prison over the last four years, blockading all of the major streets and restricting mobility under the pretext of fighting terrorism, a problem which has only worsened under his government.
Although the military in Somalia is generally still divided along clan lines, the Somalia National Army maintains its professionalism and duty to protect civilians.
Somalia’s major backers, the United States, Britain, the European Union, Turkey and Qatar considered a plan to hold one-person, one-vote elections. Several Western diplomats said they felt pressure from home governments to show that after so much money had been invested in Farmajo administration.
Mr Mohamed Farmajo may try to manipulate the electoral process through intimidation, bribery, or even outright rigging to stay in power. It’s one thing for Somalia’s donors to insist on the need for transparency.