Somalia President picks like-minded Prime Minister designate from the ‘hostile’ Jubbaland
MP Hamza Abdi Barre with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Villa Somalia in Mogadishu when he was unveiled Prime Minister subject to parliamentary approval. PHOTO | VILLA SOMALIA
Somalia’s Prime Minister nominee Hamza Abdi Barre, 48, may have been a surprise considering he hails from Jubbaland, but he and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud go way back before they both joined politics.
Moments after President Mohamud presented him at the Villa Somalia, asking parliament to endorse him as the 21st Prime Minister, old photos emerged of the two. They had worked together and back then both were supporters of the Union for Peace and Development (UPD) party.
