Somalia’s powerful interior minister under pressure from his own clan.

Mogadishu (tf.sf) –The current interior and security minister Abdikarim Husein Guled has recently come under a lot of pressure from his own clan, the Habargidir.

According to the “4.5 system” in Somalia, the Habargidir who are a sub-clan of the Hawiye tribe are to have a member of their clan appointed as minister of interior affairs. However according to recent reports the Habargidir clan seems to be dissatisfied with their own clan member, Adikarim Husein Guled, and wishes to have him removed from his post as interior and security minister. According to local sources in Mogadishu, clan members & elders claim that Abdikarim Guled “is not fit for his position and isn’t serving in the best interests of his clan”.

Recently the mayor of Mogadishu, Mahmud Tarsan, heavily criticized the use and abuse of the tribal based “4.5 system”. The system which has been in place in Somalia since the fall of Siad Bare, gives positions of authority to four of Somalia’s major tribes including their clans, and often leaves the minor tribes and clans who are usually seen as ethnically different and labeled the “.5” or “others”.

Abdikarim Guled  is said to be one of the most powerful men in Mogadishu due to his positions, close relationship with the current President and the fact that he’s in the President’s close knit “Damjadid” group. He is also often labeled as the President’s “right hand man” due to their relationship that dates far back into their days as teachers and as members of the Islah islamist movement.

However now with one of the most powerful clans in Somalia turning against him and calling for his replacement, the interior and security minister could be left exposed and vulnerable to the extent where his close relations with the President may be to no avail.