www.amisom-au.

org Issue 20, 17 January 2011

Somali police trainees

Law and Order In Profile Simple Life

AMISOM launches Private Emmanual Jazeera residents
police training initiative Mucunguzi stays focused enjoy relative calm

Losing Streak Humanitarian Crisis Fun and Games

Public support fades Thousands face starvation Somali cultural event
for al-Shabab in al-Shabab territory in Kenya draws hundreds

Law and Order
AMISOM launches police training initiative
T he African Union Mission for Somalia inaugurated a police training ini-
tiative in Kenya in January in support of the Transitional Federal Gov-
ernment of Somalia. Nearly 200 junior and mid-level management officers
of the Somali police force will undergo refresher training by AMISOM po-
lice mentors at the Kenya Wildlife Training School in Manyani, a facility
made available by the Kenyan Government.
AMISOM is mandated to train, mentor, monitor and advise the Somali
police force to build it into a credible organization adhering to international
standards. AMISOM instructors will offer lessons in community policing,
human rights, logistics and management. The AMISOM course is designed
to enhance their professionalism and skills.
“I have no doubts in my mind that the AMISOM police trainers have the
professional competence to deliver on our mandate in Somalia,” said Am-
bassador Diarra, the special representative of the chairperson of the African
Union Commission for Somalia.
At the opening ceremony, Diarra voiced thanks to the Kenyan govern-
ment on behalf of the African Union for making the Wildlife Training School
available. He also thanks the Italian government for providing crucial fund-
ing for the program and spoke directly to the Somali trainees.
“We cannot overstate the importance of the role you will play in Somalia,”
Diarra said. “Soon the country will be literally in your hands. Law and order
is not kept in the halls of government or the command centers of interna-
tional peacekeepers. It is kept by the police who walk the streets and know
AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011
Dignitaries gathered for the police training inauguration in Manyani
their country’s people better than anyone.
All of us here are inspired by your bravery and dedication, and we stand
behind you as you rise to the challenge.”
The guest of honor at the opening was Somali Minister for Internal Affairs
Ahmed Ali. Others who graced the event included Deputy Special Repre-
sentative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia
Wafula Wamunyinyi, Somali Police Commissioner Brigadier General Ali
Hassan and AMISOM Force Commander Major General Nathan Mugisha.
Also attending were KWS Director Julius Kipng’etich, IGAD Facilitator
Kipruto Kirwa, the Italian Ambassador to Kenya Stephano Dejak, Somali
Ambassador to Kenya Mohammed Nur, Ghanaian High Commissioner to
Kenya Kingsley Karimu, Kenyan Deputy Commissioner of Police Francis
Okonya and the Head of the AU’s Peace and Support Operations Division
Sivuyile Bam.
Eighteen women are among the 192 Somali officers undergoing the
AMISOM training in Kenya. The officers, some of whom have served for
over 20 years, are drawn from Somalia’s Criminal Investigation Depart-
ment, Airport Police, Traffic Department and the Somali Police Academy.
The Somali Police Force currently has 7,500 officers, the majority of whom
are stationed in the capital, Mogadishu. The training is being conducted by
13 AMISOM trainers from Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria as well as 15 Somali
counterparts. g
2 AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA
 In Profile
Our peacekeeper of the week is Private Emman-
ual Mucunguzi, a photographer for AMISOM.
Born 29 years ago in Namasenene village in cen-
tral Uganda, Mucunguzi joined the army in 2008
desiring to serve his country. Below is an excerpt
from his interview.
W hen I was told I would be deployed to
Mogadishu around June last year, it did not
come as a surprise. I had worked in other war-
torn countries before, but I had the urge to ven-
ture into a new environment totally different from
what we have back home.
I came officially as a cameraman to replace my
colleagues, who finished their terms of service.
The moment we landed in Mogadishu, I was in-
AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA
Private Emmanual Mucunguzi
stays focused
troduced to my mate Mugabe, who took me on
my first assignment in Uruba hotel, which serves
as the UPDF detachment post. My daily routine
involves taking a camera and going on assign-
ment in various UPDF detachment areas around
the city. My work as a peacekeeper is different
from others, because I witness the situation on the
ground through the lens.
What really motivates me is waking up every
day and pursuing my true passion, which is pho-
tography. I cover the dreams and hopes of various
people in the society. I always try to be smart in
what I am doing. This profession really changed
my life in a positive way.
The saddest moments come when I see those
young kids and their mothers suffering from a
3 AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011
Private Emmanual Mucunguzi
war that they don’t know anything about. It re-
ally hurts to witness people suffering in their own
country.
What I can tell our brothers on the other side is
to think beyond what they have in their tiny heads.
Because life is richer than your thinking. I know
most youths in Mogadishu are lured into the hands
of extremists through different kinds of promises.
But they should think of the consequences, be-
cause ultimately they end up meeting their death
in bad shape.
My message to my fellow peacekeepers is to
tighten up our belt in order to achieve the mission
objective, which is to bring peace, stability and
development to this beloved country. g
 Children sit for class at the Jazeera
pilot school run by AMISOM
Simple Life
Jazeera residents enjoy relative calm
J azeera, a village in southern Mogadishu, is
enjoying relative calm and growth these days
thanks to the presence of AMISOM peacekeep-
ers in the area. The population of the hamlet
has sharply risen over the years. That is because
many civilians fleeing violence in other parts of
the chaotic capital have settled in Jazeera, where
African Union peacekeepers operate a training
camp for Somali government forces.
Maryan Mohammud, a mother of eleven, runs
a kiosk in the area. She has been living in Jazeera
for more than a decade and says AMISOM’s pres-
sence in recent years has brought a sense of stabil-
ity.
“I have been living here for the last 15 years,”
Mohammud said. “AMISOM found us here.
They help us a lot in terms of education for our
children. Life has improved for better compared
AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011
to the other people in parts of Mogadishu.”
Major Saad Katemba, the AMISOM comman-
dant in Jazeera, says AU peacekeepers have a
good relationship with area residents.
“The population here is very supportive and
cooperative,” Katemba said. “They are engaged
in constructive means for sustaining livelihoods.
Some of them run their own businesses, while oth-
ers are part of a work force that is really helping
in constructions that are going on in this camp.”
The youngsters in the neighborhood benefit
from free primary education, which AMISOM
provides. Housed in a refurbished former sweets
factory, the AMISOM school is a pilot project
meant to encourage parents to bring their children
for free primary education. Aniso Hassan Jama,
a teacher at the school, says the free education is
helping shape the future of the young Somalis for
4 AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA
the better.
“The school is making progress,” said Jama,
who noted that enrollment at the school continued
to rise. “The most important thing is that our chil-
dren are getting education, an important compo-
nent of life.”
Sacid Mohammed, who teaches at a Quranic
school in the area, has advice for the youngsters
who may tempted to join armed opposition groups
claiming to be fighting a holy war.
“As much as they focus on the negativity, they
should really strive to understand the religion and
Quran and implement them in real life,” Moham-
med said. “What the armed opposition groups
are preaching is un-Islamic, because our religion
means peace. I have never seen a verse in the
Quran that calls for jihad amongst Muslims.” g

Losing Streak
Public support fades for al-Shabab
L eadership within al-Shabab, the main armed
opposition group in Somalia, recently admit-
ted that their habitual mistreatment and abuse of
Somali citizens was costing them key support. In
a rare public appearance on the southern outskirts
of Mogadishu, senior al-Shabab commander Fuad
Mohamed Khalaf said in effect that the militant
group was losing against AMISOM and Somali
government forces because it had alienated the
Somali public.
“The reason the holy warriors have failed to
emerge victorious against the infidels is largely
due to the bad relationship between the public
and al-Shabab,” said Khalaf, whose remarks were
carried on local radio. “If we are stronger than
the public, we should remember that Allah is also
stronger than us… We need to fairly treat the
people if we are to succeed.”
The comments by Khalaf amounted to an ad-
mission by al-Shabab leaders that the group has
indeed been engaged in human rights abuses. Hu-
man rights groups have long accused al-Shabab
AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA
of being guilty of harassment, killings, robbery
and rape -- charges al-Shabab normally denies.
Al-Shabab fighters, for example, were recently
reported to be robbing internally displaced per-
sons who have settled into camps along the Af-
goye corridor, a large swath of territory stretching
southwest of Mogadishu where tens of thousands
of displaced Somalis have gathered.
Analysts say Khalaf’s remarks are unlikely
to change the group’s cruelty against the public,
since most of its foot soldiers and enforcers have
a free hand in areas under al-Shabab control.
Al-Shabab effectively controls territory stretch-
ing from the southern port city of Kismayu to
the central regions of Somalia, a broad area that
is also home to the bulk of Somalia’s internally
displaced. Aid agencies seeking to alleviate the
humanitarian crisis there have struggled to oper-
ate in al-Shabab areas, because the militant group
routinely issues seemingly nonsensical bans on
some organizations.
Meanwhile, accusations of human rights abuses
5 AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011
Former al-Shabab fighters
at Villa Somalia
by al-Shabab continue to mount. Many reports
of al-Shabab atrocities surface in hospitals run by
AMISOM in Mogadishu, where Somalis harmed
by militants often come for care. One AMISOM
facility in Mogadishu is currently home to a potter
struggling to recover from a violent attack by al-
Shabab militants who accused him of being a spy.
Al-Shabab punishers cut out the man’s tongue. In
another recent incident al-Shabab gunmen killed
two pastoralists near Kismayu for refusing to pay
money demanded by the militant group. Also a
Mogadishu teenager was reportedly shot dead by
al-Shabab gunmen. Reports said that al-Shabab
enforcers demanded that the youth cut off his long
hair then pick up the clippings. The teenager al-
lowed the haircut but refused the cleanup and was
killed.
“Their inhuman treatment of the same public
who supported them yesterday will deprive them
of recruits and the economic muscle they badly
need,” said one radio commenter who refused to
give his name on air. “They stand no chance.” g
 Somalis receive food aid
Al -Shabab is under renewed pressure to co-
operate with aid organizations seeking
access to tens of thousands of Somalis facing
drought and starvation in areas under the mili-
tant group’s control. Influential religious figure
Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the
Somali Clerics Council, has called on al-Shabab
to lift bans imposed on some humanitarian orga-
nizations, including the World Food Program.
“If you say that the aid agencies have done
something wrong, then you should impose regula-
tions but not completely ban them from helping
your poor people,” Salad said in recent comments
Humanitarian Crisis
AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011
reported widely in the Somali media.
The United Nations estimates that 2 million
people, almost a third of Somalia’s population,
are in dire need of food aid, while over 560,000
Somalis live as refugees in neighboring countries.
The overwhelming majority of Somalis needing
humanitarian aid are settled in territory under
the control of al-Shabab, which has been reluc-
tant to cooperate with aid organizations. An aid
worker, who requested anonymity, says al-Shabab
has hindered deliveries of food aid to the impov-
erished Somalis living in makeshift camps along
the Afgoye corridor outside Mogadishu.
Children linning up for food in Mogadishu
6 AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA
Thousands
face starvation
in al-Shabab
territory
“The living conditions of those IDPs are ex-
tremely difficult with many people struggling to
find food for themselves and lacking other basic
necessities,” the aid worker said. “We have wit-
nessed scenarios in which al-Shabab fighters in-
spect public vehicles on the Mogadishu-Afgoye
road, just to make sure no humanitarian food is
smuggled to the camps. This is a total disregard
of humanitarian laws. They simply want these
people dead.”
According to the World Food Program, about
600,000 people in Mogadishu depend on humani-
tarian food aid provided by the agency. g
 Youth Fest

Somali cultural event in

Kenya draws hundreds

Fun and Games

I n mid November, the Somali Youth Leadership
Forum (SYLF) organized a football tournament
in Eastleigh, Kenya. The participating teams all
wore t-shirts with “Somali Youth Eid and Peace
Tournament” on them. The goal of this tourna-
ment was to bring these young boys together so
that they could put aside their personal differences
and celebrate Eid in peace and harmony.
SYLF provided the uniforms, shoes and medals
that were given to all participants. The group also
provided food and refreshments throughout the
day and covered transport costs. Additionally, the
captains of each team was chosen to be a part of
the fashion show for the “Somali Cultural Night,”
and event staged at the end of November also in
Nairobi.
The Laico Hotel in Nairobi hosted the Somalia
Cultural Night on Nov. 27, with the Somali Youth
Leadership Forum again sponsoring. More than
280 people attended the event, which was in-
tended to foster among Somalis a sense of culture,
unity, diversity, integration and most of all peace.
There were traditional Somali dances that swayed
the crowd and reminded most of the Somali’s in
the audience of the beauty of the Somali culture.
The traditional clothes were designed in both clas-
sic and modern designs suitable for both old and
young Somalis.
The event stirred interest with both local and
international media houses. It was dubbed “an
exotic fashion show” by one international media
house. The pictures were displayed on all major
Somali websites and carried by the Associated
Press (AP) and Getty Images. The impact this
event had was positive on all peace-loving Soma-
lis, and it rekindled new hope that indeed there
is beauty, diversity and uniqueness that resides
within the young generation of Somalis. g

Youth Fest

AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA 7 AMISOM BULLETIN - ISSUE 20, 2011

 AMISOM News Bulletin is a Bimonthly publication of the African Union Mission in Somalia
Editor-in-Chief: Gaffel G. Nkolokosa
Spokesperson, Force Headquarters: Major Barigye Ba-Hoku
Field Reports: Capt Chris Magezi
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