"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."
Somalia’s (s)election may have become a site for competing elites rather than competing visions. But the importance of the imperfect process should not be underestimated. If all goes according to (the latest) plan, Somalia will hold parliamentary elections on 23 October, with the appointment of the president set for 30 November.
US legal and military justifications for conducting attacks in Somalia have evolved recently, leading to a surge in airstrikes. Could the same precedent be used elsewhere in Africa?
In the midst of the search for new concepts in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, the financial lifeline of terrorist networks is in the focus. No terrorist organization, neither al Shabaab nor Daesh or Boko Haram is able to operate without resources, including money. As with most regular armed groups, fighters have to be paid, equipment needs to be purchased and if the group aims at controlling territory – financial cushions are even more important. While putting the focus on illicit financial flows it is however important to manage expectations. By Annette Weber, SWP, German Institute on International and Security Affairs.
Al-Shabaab is still launching attacks, donor fatigue is rising, and countless other challenges remain. But there’s no doubt Somalia is moving in the right direction.
Today marks exactly one year since the Al Shabaab attack on the Garissa University College that left some 148 people dead including 142 students. In spite of new security measures, the Saturday Nation established that little improvement has been achieved on the ground even as the fear of similar attacks is still high.
International partners in the Somalia peace process are now using formal education and vocational training to counter Al Shabaab influence on illiterate youth. The European Union (EU) for example, has set up 10 model schools in Jubaland, Puntland, Galmudug, Banadir and Hiraan — areas that the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) has liberated.
Native of Cape Town, Sean Jacobs lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches in Manhattan. He obsesses about the relationship between politics and popular culture, but the main rationale for his blog is to comment on what passes for media coverage of the African continent.
Sokari Ekine is a Nigerian social justice activist living in Spain, with a background in technology, gender issues and human rights. She is interested in creating a community of grassroots African bloggers as a way for Africans to exchange ideas, share experiences and tell their own stories in our own words.
Rosebelle Kagumire is an experienced Ugandan Journalist. She won the best Journalist blogger English category at the Panos hosted competition in 2009. Currently she is a student of MA. Media, Conflict and Peace studies at University for Peace (UPEACE), Costa Rica.
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