Once feared former Shabaab boss lands Somalia minister post
Mukhtar Robow sits among new ministers named by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre for a briefing with President Hassan Mohamud in Mogadishu, Somalia on August 2, 2022. PHOTO | REUTERS
Somalia’s appointment to its Cabinet, of a former al Shabaab leader as Religious Affairs minister is dividing opinion on whether this could be suitable counter-terrorism policy for the region.
Mukhtar Robow, once a feared terror merchant within al Shabaab and who once boasted of shaking hands with Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was this week among new ministers named by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre. He was endorsed by the Federal Parliament and will be charged with countering extremist religious ideology, which al Shabaab have used to cause terror.
