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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001885 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID PINS SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - PM HUSSEIN ATTEMPTS TO OUST MOGADISHU'S 
MAYOR 
 
Classified By: SPECIAL ENVOY JOHN YATES, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Summary:  Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein issued a 
public recommendation to remove Banaadir governor and 
Mogadishu mayor Muhammad Umar Habeb, aka Mohammad Dheere, on 
July 29.  President Yusuf, who rejected the maneuver as 
illegal, told us the Prime Minister didn't consult the 
President and said Dheere will remain in office.  Our 
contacts also tell us Prime Minister Hussein may try to 
remove from office intelligence chief Gen. Mohamad Warsame 
Farah &Darwish8 and Transitional Federal Government Police 
Commissioner Gen. Abdi Awale Qeybdiid, ostensibly to improve 
the security situation and government revenue collection in 
Mogadishu. This latest rift represents another distraction 
from Djibouti accord implementation and progress on 
transitional tasks.  End summary. 
 
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PM Attempts to Remove Dheere 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) President Yusuf and the Prime Minister's office 
confirm Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, backed by a six of 
ten cabinet ministers present, asked the president to remove 
governor of Banaadir Region and mayor of Mogadishu, Muhammad 
Umar Habeb, aka Mohammad Dheere, on July 29.  Dheere is a 
close ally of President Yusuf, providing much of his security 
in Mogadishu.  President Yusuf told us he wasn't consulted, 
the Prime Minister's move was illegal, and the governor 
remains in office.  Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Abdisalam 
Adan told SE Yates the Prime Minister requested Dheere's 
removal to improve security in Mogadishu.  Hundreds of 
displaced persons outside Mogadishu cheered the Prime 
Minister's call for Dheere's removal, according to media. 
Our contacts tell us Prime Minister Hussein also soon may 
request that the president sack Director of National Security 
Service Gen. Mohamad Warsame Farah "Darwish" and TFG Police 
Commissioner Gen. Abdi Awale Qeybdiid. 
 
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PM Concerned About Longevity? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) By advocating for the dismissal of the three 
officials most Somalia watchers view as responsible for 
Mogadishu's insecurity, the Prime Minister may be trying to 
bolster his standing with Parliament and the public; 
certainly with the Hawiye constituency in Mogadishu. 
According to the Prime Minister's staff, Parliament might 
condone the Prime Minister Hussein's move as an effort to 
improve security in Mogadishu, repair the business climate, 
and increase revenue collection from the Port of Mogadishu, 
long rumored a source of Dheere's wealth and power. 
Nonetheless, reports indicate a group of MPs still will table 
the recently-rumored vote of no confidence against Prime 
Minister Hussein.  The Prime Minister's staff believes the 
vote will fail. 
 
¶4.  (C) Concerned that the widening split between the Prime 
Minister and President Yusuf may further weaken the TFG, 
Ethiopia is counseling dialogue, according to Deputy Prime 
Minister Ahmed Abdisalam Aden.  To diffuse the situation, the 
Prime Minister's office suggested to us that Ethiopia 
encourage Yusuf to appoint Dheere the governor of Upper 
Shabeelle, a position he held in the past. They also floated 
naming Dheere to the cabinet, or Council of Ministers, under 
new rules that ministers can come from outside parliament. 
 
¶5.  (U) President Yusuf appointed Dheere Mogadishu's mayor 
and Banaadir's governor on April 26, 2007.  Lately, Dheere 
had reportedly clashed with district leaders, and supposedly 
lost some support among his fellow Hawiye/Abgal elders and 
business leaders in Mogadishu.  Dheere was a member of the 
Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council and among the 
Mogadishu warlords who formed the Alliance for the 
Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism to counter the 
Islamic courts, growing influence in the capital. 
 
 
NAIROBI 00001885  002 OF 002 
 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  (C) Comment:  President Yusuf emphasized that the Prime 
Minister did not follow procedure.  Dheere was nominated by 
former Prime Minister Gedi, but appointed by Yusuf's 
presidential decree.  The president must approve his removal. 
 Furthermore, DPM Ahmed Abdasalam told Special Envoy Yates 
that only six of the 10 cabinet ministers present, out of a 
total of 15 ministers, voted for the ouster; two abstained 
and two opposed.  Nonetheless, his attempt to get Dheere out 
of Mogadishu could improve the PM's popularity in Parliament 
and with the city's long-suffering citizens.  However, it 
might not be enough to counter the growing movement within 
Baidoa for a no-confidence motion. 
 
¶7.  (C) Comment, continued:  This rift in the TFG is an 
unhelpful distraction from implementing the Djibouti 
Agreement and moving forward on important transition tasks. 
According to his staff, Prime Minister Hussein has not given 
up trying to remove Dheere.  Cabinet may meet again on the 
issue and seek legal advice.  Ethiopia could help defuse the 
situation by encouraging President Yusuf to move Dheere out 
of Mogadishu, or finding a new position for him in the TFG. 
Yusuf, however, wants and probably needs Dheere's militia for 
protection at Villa Somalia.  End comment. 
SLUTZ