While President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud known as Silanyo, who has now reached the ripe age of 76 and will soon go to London for a medical check-up,
is finding it increasingly difficult to do his job, two people in his immediate entourage are gaining more and more influence over him.
One is his wife, Amina Mohamed Jirdeh and the other is his Minister to the Presidency, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan.
According to some of Silanyo’s old friends, the important decisions taken without consulting this informal duo have become few and far between. It even includes
the choices President Silanyo makes appointing people to the government, or the heads of police and the armed forces.
The First Lady attends all the conferences and meetings that deal with social and political issues and regularly goes on tours of the provinces; meanwhile the
Minister
to the Presidency is in constant contact with all the members of the government. He is also a member of delegations going on foreign missions.
For example, he accompanied President Silanyo to two recent international meetings with the heads of Somaliland and the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) in Mogadishu. Finally, the heads of the security services and the provincial governors regularly report on their activities to the First Lady or the minister
to the presidency.
Source: Indian Ocean Newsletter
http://www.africaintelligence.com/ION/p ... 755424-ART
