Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has suspended Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, a day after the duo fought over long-delayed elections in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
President Mohamed announced the suspension of Roble on Monday in a statement issued from his office.
He accused the Premier of interfering with an investigation into a land grabbing case.
The statement said: “The president decided to suspend Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and stop his powers since he was linked with corruption.”
The Office of the President alleged that the relationship between the President, known as Farmajo, and Roble have long been frosty, with the latest development raising fresh fears for Somalia’s stability as it struggles to hold elections.
On Sunday, Roble accused the president of sabotaging the electoral process, after Farmajo withdrew the prime minister’s mandate to organize the elections and called for the creation of a new committee to “correct” the shortcomings.
Roble, who has not responded to Monday’s suspension announcement, said Farmajo did not want to hold “a credible election in this country”.
In April, pro-government and opposition fighters opened fire in the streets of Mogadishu after Farmajo extended his term without holding fresh elections.
The constitutional crisis was only defused when Farmajo reversed the term extension and Roble brokered a timetable to a vote.
Ever since, a bitter rivalry between the two leaders has derailed the election again, straining ties with Western allies long impatience for the process to finish peacefully.
The Nation.