Somali MPs file no-confidence motion against interior minister

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somali lawmakers on Monday tabled a motion of no-confidence against Interior Minister Ali Yusuf Hosh, the first such motion filed against a government official since parliament elected a new speaker several weeks ago.

The motion, signed by 60 members of parliament, will be reviewed by the speaker before being presented to the House for debate expected within 48 hours, according to MP Abdirahman Agawayne, a lawmaker regarded as a key supporter of the current administration.

Agawayne said the MPs behind the motion had held long-standing grievances against the minister that had gone unaddressed, prompting them to pursue his removal from office.

The filing comes weeks after several Somali media outlets, including Somali Stream’s “Geedi Fadhi” podcast, reported that the new speaker of parliament, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, had told a group of MPs he would help them oust Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre if they tabled a motion of no-confidence against him.

On the same day the interior minister’s motion was filed, MP Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu said a separate motion against Mogadishu Mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab was also under way.

The flurry of activity suggests a resumption of a parliamentary practice that had been dormant for four years, during which the previous speaker declined to accept no-confidence motions. It marks a return to two decades of Somali parliamentary tradition in which MPs have regularly used such motions to seek the removal of prime ministers and speakers from office.

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