Mr. Osman Elmi Boqore who was sitting for absent speaker of the in Mogadishu defected to Jowhar quietly in a surprise change of heart today. His first stop was the presidential compound where President Abdulahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Gedi and other high ranking government officials were at the time.
Mogadishu faction leaders who are opposed to the interim government persuaded Mr. Boqore and many other members of the parliament, including the speaker to relocate from Nairobi, Kenya where the parliament and government were setup last year to Mogadishu, despite of government’s decision to relocate to Jowhar, 90 KM northeast of Mogadishu for security reasons.
The speaker of the house, Mr. Hassan Sheik Adan went to Mogadishu with many members of the parliament in defiance initially but left the country soon afterwards leaving Mr. Boqore, who continued his stance against Jowhar based interim government until today in charge.
Osman’s journey to Jowhar surprised everyone who is following Somalia’s current political landscape. Nevertheless, he’s not he first to defect from powerful Mogadishu faction leaders. Other members of the parliament left Mogadishu in frustration in the past few weeks.
After emotional greetings hugging, Mr. Boqore talked to his former foes about the surprise defection and how his group’s efforts to reconcile with the government were sabotaged by Mogadishu faction leaders who swore to do whatever it takes to discredit and dissolve the interim government.