Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has fired and replaced Mogadishu Mayor Omar Filish. According to analysts, the president wanted to install his own ally in the capital, where Islamist militants killed 21 people last month at a hotel.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud removed Filish as mayor of Somalia’s capital and governor of the Banaadir regional administration in a decree issued on Wednesday.
Mohamud stated in the decree that he acted on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry.
Abdikarin Ali Kaar, the presidential spokesman, sent a video to journalists explaining the change.
When the president saw the interior ministry’s recommendation and saw the need for a new governor for the Banaadir regional administration and the mayor of Mogadishu, the president of the republic of Somalia, after considering the ministry’s recommendation, appointed Mr. Yusuf Hussein Jim’ale to be the mayor of Mogadishu and the governor of the Banaadir region.
According to Kaar, the president chose Jim’ale because of his education, experience, and previous role in helping to develop Mogadishu.
Yusuf Jim’ale, also known as Maddale, was the mayor of Mogadishu from 2015 to 2017, during Mohamud’s first term as president.
The Somali president did not specify why he fired Filish, but political analysts believe the new president wanted to install a mayor who would adhere to his development and security policies.
Filish had been mayor since August of this year. During his tenure, he was chastised for the lack of development projects. The city has also been subjected to repeated attacks by the militant group al-Shabab, most recently in August, when fighters stormed a popular hotel, killing 21 people and injuring over 100 more.