Petitioner to challenge Madobe win at East Africa court
Monday September 30 2019
Jubbaland state president Sheikh Ahmed Islam “Madobe”. A petitioner who was barred from contesting for president, is considering moving to the East African Court of justice to challenge Madobe's re-election. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The petition against the re-election of Jubbaland state president Sheikh Ahmed Islam “Madobe” has hit a snag due to the absence of a judicial system.
Petitioner Abdallah Ahmed Ibrahim, who was barred from contesting for president, is considering moving to the East African Court of justice.
He told The East African that he submitted his petition to the regional court because courts in Somalia lack the capacity to handle the case.
“It is time the international community realises that the problem with Somalia is the judicial crisis and not necessarily al-Shabaab. It is unfortunate that people are forced to go to al-Shabaab Sharia courts because there is no alternative,” Mr Ibrahim said.
Although Somalia is not a member of the EAC, Somali nationals are allowed to file petitions at the East African court provided they have a dual citizenship or a resident permit of any of the six East African Community (EAC) partner states, the Registrar of the EACJ, Yufnalis Okubo, told The East African.
Somalia had applied to be a member of EAC but the application was suspended because the country does not meet the conditions for admission.
Petitioner Ibrahim has listed four respondents: The Somalia federal government for interfering with the Jubbaland elections against the constitution; the Jubbaland government for not following the constitution while constituting the Jubbaland Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (JIEBC); the JIEBC for putting stringent conditions that barred other candidates from contesting; and the Kenyan government that congratulated Madobe yet it did not have independent observers on the ground.
He also argues that seven members of the JIEC were handpicked by President Madobe against Article 93(4) of the Jubbaland constitution which requires members to be picked by the respective line ministry and approved by the State Assembly.
“The same procedure was flouted and instead it was the president who made such appointments and sought to legitimise his appointments by forwarding the said candidates to the State Assembly for approval,” said Mr Ibrahim.