Six injured militiamen who were among 10 other captured by Somaliland army this week in the district of Hudun of sool region have been brought to Burco general hospital for specialized treatment.
The Khatuumo affiliated militiamen were held at the Burco maximum prison after been captured during a fierce firefight last Tuesday in Hudun district after a failed ambush they had launched on a Somaliland army base,said Gen Shaqalle.
General Ismael Mohamed Osman (Shaqalle) told reporters during a press briefing “ units belonging to the national army had dispelled an ambush on a military base in Hudun ,inflicting heavy losses on the Khatuumo militiamen capturing 10 prisoners and 2 technical battle-wagons and one heavy duty vehicle after pursing them as they tried to flee for more the 40km,.
The army chief also revealed that two soldiers belonging to the national army were injured in the battle which lasted more than two hours.
Somaliland Red crescent society has been granted access to the six militiamen.
Berbera port authority has confirmed that it has taken a bold decision of sending the oil tanker with the petroleum products that have been deemed as sub-standard away for not meeting requirements.
This comes in the wake of last week reports that a ship carrying sub standard petroleum products was docked a waiting discharge its cargo at the Berbera port fuel terminal was suddenly blocked from doing so, when it was established that the product was outside the specification’s required by Somaliland Bureau of Standards .
The ship had been ordered to sail back to Dubai yesterday with its port of origin with its load of unwanted cargo after the laboratory in Djibouti we use to check all fuel confirmed the cargo it was carrying didn’t met the standards said, the director of Berbera fuel storage facility.
The Director of Berbera Fuel Facility told reporters” the government is determined to address the problem which has in the past seen sub-standard fuel being sold in local market which had in turn caused many local businesses to incur financial loss because of using sub standards quality fuel which was not in full conformity with the Somaliland Bureau of Standards specifications”.
Mr. Osman Abdi Barkhdale (Shiine) “we advise all local businessmen who are involved in the fuel importation to adhere with the standards set by the government and always put quality as a top priority when it comes to importing fuel products because we are determined to implement strict procedure so as to conform to both local and international.
The unwanted cargo on board the UAE owned ship belonged to Somaliland businessmen.
ACMD says there is not enough evidence to say khat is linked to ill-health, social problems or terror groups
It is banned in the US, banned in the Netherlands, but the UK Government’s official drugs advisory body has rejected calls to ban khat, a herbal stimulant from east Africa.
Somalis, Yemenis, Kenyans and Ethopians regularly chew the stuff, its chief advantage over other narcotics being it not expressly outlawed in the Koran. Planes full of the plants fly to the UK every week, which is then dispatched to parts of the country with large east African populations, and sold perfectly legally, mainly in newsagents and corner shop style grocers. Most of the stuff that makes it to the UK comes from Kenya, where it fetches more than coffee and bananas. A UK ban would have been devastating news for large numbers of Kenyan farmers. An estimated £400m is spent on the stuff in the UK every year, and being legal, a sizeable chunk of this goes to the exchequer.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said there was “insufficient evidence” that khat caused health problems. It was a sentiment echoed by Beka, a Somalian buying a £6 bunch of the stuff at the Al-aseel supermarket on London’s decidedly Arabian thoroughfare, Edgware Road,. “It’s not like drug, not like alcohol,” he said. He has been chewing it for twenty years. “It’s like Red Bull, you know. You chew it for help concentrate. Reading book. Or interviewing for job.” So The Independent bought a bunch too. The shopkeeper, who didn’t want to be named, said it was the first bunch he had sold to a white person.
Consumers of khat chew its leaves and the tender part of the stems, a little bit at a time, until they are soft, then deposit the stuff, hamster-like stuff into the cheeks, where it accumulates into a ball to be spat out hours and hours later. In East African khat houses, and the UK too – number 15, in Southall, west London is the best known – big round cheeks are a status symbol.
It tastes hideous. Overwhelmingly bitter, like biting into a pot plant. The mouth then floods with saliva, compelling you to swallow, which you’re not supposed to do (it’s not dangerous, but swallowing would limit the effects). At this point you take a sweet drink to take away the bitterness, chew for a bit, then send to the cheeks.
A couple of hours later, this reporter felt decidedly wired. Talkative, but rather anxious. Perhaps like drinking three pints and four espressos. It is mild, nowhere near as potent as alcohol, but if this is forbidden, you can see the appeal. It stimulates dopamine, causing excitement, and mild euphoria. The same as chewing coca leaves, the base ingredient for cocaine and around a thousand times milder, a practice popular throughout the Andes.
Yemeni businessman chew it while talking over deals. Mahdi Jama, a Somalian, and a regular chewer at Southall’s Number 15, told Channel 4 News: “Why you ban something my father, his father and his father done it. I understand there are people who have a lot, a lot, of problems with it, but those people are people who are addicts. You have the same problem with alcohol, cigarettes or weed.” It is an argument that feeds into a feeling of discrimination. Why should the teetotal East African community have their narcotic of choice banned?
“If I wanted to get married tomorrow the first thing I would do is I would buy loads of khat and sit down with my father in law and we would have a good chat,” Mr Jama said. “Because, I cannot buy a bottle of wine for him. He is a Muslim man.”
Opponents to khat, who have come primarily from within the Somali community where it is most widespread, point to the problems of addiction, unemployment and family breakdown.
Their particular concern is for its spread amongst the young. Its legality, they claim, makes young people think it is safe to use it.“
ACMD chairman Professor Les Iversen said the review ”found insufficient evidence of either health or societal harms caused by the use of khat to justify its control in the UK“.
He added: ”We have listened to concerns of the community and recommend local authorities and the police address these through continued engagement.“
Abukar Awale, a former addict, leads the campaign to ban it. He recently held prayers outside Downing Street to put pressure on the government. ”We will challenge the decision,” he said. “For the government, it’s not about how harmful this product is, it’s who is using it – and that is discrimination. Our lawyers have been preparing for this, and we will take legal action within the next three months.“
is it a preemptive or prerequisite for Somaliland’s question for recognition?
As events unfold for the Somali people in the Somali region things cannot get better as it stands now over the past two decades for both Somalia and Somaliland.
The recognition that is, comes in two folds.
At the international arena
At the Somali arena.
At the international arena,
What has changed in the international arena is a Somali government has been recognized for a sovereign nation that was a member in the United Nations, even though still its very existence is enforced by the international community. In the last twenty two years no government had qualified to earn the legitimacy of a representative Somali government. The main reasons are after Siyad Barre’s downfall there was no official transfer of power. When the vacuum emerged then the war between Ali Mahdi and Aideed Farah over the seat had began and continued for a number of years throughout the nineties. It was then the first international intervention when everything went dark until when the era of the exile governments began to emerge.
For example,
The exile government of Abdul qassim Salad Hassan formed in Arta, Djibouti of. 2000-2004
The exile government of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed formed in Kenya. 2004-2008
The second exile government of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed formed in Djiboute. 2009-2012
The exile nature of those governments was a major deficiency in their legitimacy. However as part of its transitional charter of the TFG government– the mandate was to move to a legitimate government. The least of it was to be formed inside the country, the creation of a constitution, a parliament chosen from all the regions including Somaliland.
Anything less could never have made a legitimate government that the international community can endorse for its sovereignty. Somaliland was a crucial part in the legitimization process for the official Somali government and in order to complete the mission to the finish line, the transitional government had to reach to the Somaliland side when Sheikh Sheriff and President of Somaliland met in the UAE. It was the due process to build a legal Somali government.
At the Somali arena.
While the grievances of the Somalis are still smoldering inside, now the ball is in their court the legitimacy and sovereignty are the basic rights of its people but the fairness is not accepted in the Somali arena. Somaliland refutes its entirety. But the fact it refutes doesn’t mean it did not participate in its formation. For instance, the notorious 4.5 assembly inherited from the late TFG, is ridiculous and unrepresentative of the union between the North and the South. But, one will say then why Somaliland participated in the finish line of the TFG. Let’s briefly look at the rich Somali wisdom. “it was said once a lady harnessed a camel but in the end could not get the camel lift off the ground, and in the process called Sheikh Abdulqadir to power his camel to lift off the ground, Sheikh Abdulqadir was a pious muslim scholar some people believe by calling him can help ease their suffering. However, when fortunately the camel lifted off the ground, she was asked who was Sheikh Abdulqadir by her peers who were unaware the person he was. She replied I don’t know but all that I needed was to lift my camel off the ground”. The 4.5 was typically not something Somaliland knew, nor cared about but all that maters to Somaliland people was the Camel lifting off the ground. Now the sovereignty of Somalia is in the hands of its people. it is at this stage where it can never be better for Somaliland to pursue and get separation from the rest of Somalia. Yes, the recognition that is, makes a prerequisite for it’ s separation but this is not a preemptive for it’s question for separation. It is rather the voice is now more louder without much noise in the background of what government should we deal with for this matter – if we see back in the history, this has been the case in The Ethiopia/Eriteria Model, Southern Sudan and Northern Sudan Model. Each case had one official legitimate party releasing the second party. Likewise, the arbitration of Somalia/Somaliland separation follows the same model and needs to be enforced and supervised by the international community. If the international community does not have the official on the other side the Somaliland case will remain in legal limbo. Let us not forget, the makeup of the Somali government can never be possible without the international community enforcing its very existence, the funding, policing and defense included. The fact that Somaliland will sit with Somalia again in the near future it is time the international communities play the arbitration on the one hand while on the other hand refraining to leave the initiative to begin from within between the two Somalis. It is paramount to the legitimacy of the Somali government to get to respond the demand of Somaliland for the union they entered together.
The conclusion is the recognition of Somali government is not a preemptive move for Somaliland’s question for recognition but it’s a closer step and a prerequisite for its recognition. I complement the world community and especially the United States of America to bring to an end to the anarchy in Somalia.
As Journalist or journalism field, the entrance of this role is to know the different between opinion and genuine news often to avoid causing further damage and destruction to the society you serve. It is doubtless that mostly unprofessional individuals are involved in this field who create daily arguments and political suspicion in the society, this happens lack of knowledge and unaware of exactly the serious impact of this problematic activities damaging the reputation, union and better living of Somaliland society generally which are irresponsibly reiterated by these mafia on papers and websites with out proper knowledge of the filed.
Of course, there are good, clean journalists in this field who are accustomed to deliver very reliable and important news to the society or their nation. But mainly the nature of Somaliland journalism is a way of tribalism, revenge, based on a personal opinion rather than accurate and precise duties of journalism role freely and neutrally that defends the integrity, sovereignty and dignity of the nation, as well as national politicians who always deserve to have certain level of respect whether you like or not.
The current behaviour of Somaliland websites, daily papers and all independent press activities are not in the proper position in terms of knowledge and ethics of the field as well. Why not improve the journalism techniques and best way of presentations instead of using their work as a bullet to destroy the livelihood of the society on daily basis. There is no different of piracy in the sea, warlords operate in the grounds by hindering the better continuation of the Somaliland society’s way of life.
People habitualize this kind of dirty business in the name of journalism, must see the wider picture and go to the colleges to study and understand fully, what it means to be a brilliant and professional journalist. At the moment, it looks a gun point on the head of the society, especially the very important people like business people, politicians and so on. People are somehow held in for ransom and threatened unfairly for the purpose of extortion
Somaliland has come from a long way to since declaring its independent from the rest of Somalia on 1991. The businesses were booming and were mostly run by women. Its estimated that 70% of the population are women. Despite being the 70% of the population, women in general have struggled to have their input in relation politics and other means of advancing the country. These obstacles have always been there traditionally.
Their number enemies are tribal and religious leaders whom do not want these women not advance or compete with their fellow countrymen. These people claim to be that women should be at home taking are of domestics issues rather than country issues with no justification from the religious point of view.
Since Somaliland has declared its own state for nearly 22 years, 5 democratic elections were held, and an estimated of 85% of the electoral are women and youth, and many intellectual citizens noticed that women should be on the front seat to lead the elections or compete the candidacy with fellow men with lots of support from the population as a whole.
Its unforgettable that the role that women played on the latest municipality elections held in the country with huge support form the public. Regrettably, none of the women had made to grab seats for these local elections. Its arguable that all these women were singled out not to represent at the municipality, and every effort were made to ensure that none of them proceeds to next face. All those honorable women believe that they were rigged and could have challenged with the electoral commission but left for the sake of not creating chaos within the population, as the situation could have been deteriorated should they have go ahead with challenging those looters.
Women will not be put off by these barbaric actions, but will fight to reclaim their justice, as they are citizens themselves, and would carry on the fight to ensure that there is justice for all.
Last week, the U.S. government recognized a government of Somalia for the first time since 1991. In his remarks to Secretary of State Clinton, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud spoke of Somalia emerging from a period of chaos to one of peace. This new Somalia, he said, will make a “valuable contribution to the region and the world at large.” If Somalia is to be a shining example, it should start by ending impunity for war criminals and giving victims justice.
Somalia’s transition must reckon with its past. The Somali state’s collapse in 1991 did not emerge from a vacuum: it was precipitated by years of brutal violence under the Mohamed Siad Barre dictatorship. Under Barre’s 21-year regime, government forces tortured, summarily executed, raped, and even launched aerial bombing raids on civilian populations. The armed groups that overthrew Barre in 1991, and the remnants of that regime, continued the cycle of violence.
To date, no individual has been held to account for these crimes–in Somalia. However, accountability efforts have been made against former Barre-regime officials living in the U.S. The Center for Justice and Accountability has brought three cases in U.S. courts on behalf of Somali victims. Last November, a U.S. federal court of appeals denied immunity to Mohamed Ali Samantar, former Somali Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, for crimes against humanity and torture. That same month, a district court in Ohio ruled that Colonel Abdi Aden Magan, the former Chief of Somalia’s National Security Service was liable for torture. Another torture suit is pending against Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali (a.k.a “Tukeh”), a former Brigade Commander in the Somali National Army.”) Each of these cases was filed under U.S. universal jurisdiction laws that permit civil suits for human rights violations.
President Sheikh has made a commitment to restore faith in governance and the rule of law. His first step should be to hold to account former officials and warlords who brought Somalia over the brink. His second is to end impunity for human rights abuses committed in the wake of Somalia’s collapse. To date, cases of gender based violence, child soldier recruitment, and attacks against journalist have gone unpunished.
Lessons can be learned from the cases in the U.S., but President Sheikh can look closer to home as well. Local activists and government officials in the northern region of Somaliland have begun toexcavate mass graves and document evidence of war crimes. The Somali government should build on these efforts and end the impunity of suspected war criminals like General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan or Maslah Mohamed Siad Barre. Both have been accused of overseeing widespread and systematic abuses under Siad Barre. And both currently split their time between Somalia and Kenya.
It will be difficult to restore confidence in government with such perpetrators still at large. After victory in his case against Samantar, Aziz Deria, whose father and brother were abducted by Somali officials and never seen again, observed that holding former officials “formally accountable for atrocities in Somalia’s civil war is the best way for Somalia to move forward. Clan retribution can be set aside when people can be assured of justice through the legal system.”
The words of President Sheik speak of stability and hope. But to achieve these goals, Somalia must begin transparent human rights investigations and provide redress to victims.
Last week, the U.S. government recognized a government of Somalia for the first time since 1991. In his remarks to Secretary of State Clinton, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud spoke of Somalia emerging from a period of chaos to one of peace. This new Somalia, he said, will make a “valuable contribution to the region and the world at large.” If Somalia is to be a shining example, it should start by ending impunity for war criminals and giving victims justice.
Somalia’s transition must reckon with its past. The Somali state’s collapse in 1991 did not emerge from a vacuum: it was precipitated by years of brutal violence under the Mohamed Siad Barre dictatorship. Under Barre’s 21-year regime, government forces tortured, summarily executed, raped, and even launched aerial bombing raids on civilian populations. The armed groups that overthrew Barre in 1991, and the remnants of that regime, continued the cycle of violence.
To date, no individual has been held to account for these crimes–in Somalia. However, accountability efforts have been made against former Barre-regime officials living in the U.S. The Center for Justice and Accountability has brought three cases in U.S. courts on behalf of Somali victims. Last November, a U.S. federal court of appeals denied immunity to Mohamed Ali Samantar, former Somali Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, for crimes against humanity and torture. That same month, a district court in Ohio ruled that Colonel Abdi Aden Magan, the former Chief of Somalia’s National Security Service was liable for torture. Another torture suit is pending against Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali (a.k.a “Tukeh”), a former Brigade Commander in the Somali National Army.”) Each of these cases was filed under U.S. universal jurisdiction laws that permit civil suits for human rights violations.
President Sheikh has made a commitment to restore faith in governance and the rule of law. His first step should be to hold to account former officials and warlords who brought Somalia over the brink. His second is to end impunity for human rights abuses committed in the wake of Somalia’s collapse. To date, cases of gender based violence, child soldier recruitment, and attacks against journalist have gone unpunished.
Lessons can be learned from the cases in the U.S., but President Sheikh can look closer to home as well. Local activists and government officials in the northern region of Somaliland have begun toexcavate mass graves and document evidence of war crimes. The Somali government should build on these efforts and end the impunity of suspected war criminals like General Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan or Maslah Mohamed Siad Barre. Both have been accused of overseeing widespread and systematic abuses under Siad Barre. And both currently split their time between Somalia and Kenya.
It will be difficult to restore confidence in government with such perpetrators still at large. After victory in his case against Samantar, Aziz Deria, whose father and brother were abducted by Somali officials and never seen again, observed that holding former officials “formally accountable for atrocities in Somalia’s civil war is the best way for Somalia to move forward. Clan retribution can be set aside when people can be assured of justice through the legal system.”
The words of President Sheik speak of stability and hope. But to achieve these goals, Somalia must begin transparent human rights investigations and provide redress to victims.
On the brink: The bubble that was Eastleigh is threatening to burst as shoppers and traders flee the area in the wake of mysterious terror attacks.
The picture of Eastleigh is one of total withdrawal and subjugation.
The poor roads that had caved in under the weight of human traffic are empty.
Human traffic within the Eastleigh peri-urban shopping centre has thinned to unimaginable levels like the morning dew that evaporates with the rising sun.
The flow of toxic sludge — evidence of human life and activity — onto the roads is gradually drying up.
The verandas of mega buildings that teemed with hawkers and wares on display have been zone off with mean nylon ropes — as if to keep the ‘bad guys’ away.
The hawkers, whose daily bread singularly hinged on shouting, have since gone mute — vending their wares in silence and only occasionally waving gently at a passing onlooker.
The stalls that housed not just the merchandise but secret safes hoarding millions of shillings are deserted in their dozens.
Public transport is a sorry portrait of a battered sub-sector. PSV conductors — known for the sub-culture of violence and ruthlessness — have been reduced to a tame lot. Seated in their vessels, they count on providence and blank stares to bring passengers their way.
The drivers, openly bored due to an alien culture — one of total order and silence — drift off in thoughts. With vehicle stereos in the mute piling onto their misery, the drivers often doze off as they await a signal from their conductors to step on the pedal.
Shoppers and traders alike talk in low tones — occasionally glancing over their shoulders as they barter their suspicions.
This is the new Eastleigh where fear of the unknown is the new commodity in stock.
The recent wave of terror attacks in the area has sent a chill down the spine of residents and shoppers alike. The security crackdown that followed has only made life harder and business near impossible.
Businesses worth billions of shillings are either closing down in Eastleigh or being relocated to other countries.
Business Beat has authoritatively learnt that proprietors are fleeing the region’s business hub to escape a sting of security operations targeting aliens — most of who run a chain of businesses in the area.
Massive withdrawals
Banks that rushed to the area are already feeling the pinch of the fleeing businesspeople.
Our investigations reveal that an estimated Sh10 billion was withdrawn from 12 banks that operate in the area in the past three months alone.
Efforts to get a comment from Barclays Bank Managing Director Adan Mohammed proved futile, as he did not respond to our phone calls.
Paul Sesi, Head of Operations at Chase Bank, which also operates in the area said Chase Bank hadn’t witnessed any panic withdrawals.
“We are yet to see anything untoward,” said Sesi. “We haven’t been affected and are operating normally.”
But even as operators in the areas denied knowledge of anything unseemly, Barclays Bank, which used to operate two branches on a 24-hour basis, has since stopped night operations due to lack of customers.
“Barclays now operates only day time because the night business is dead,” says Hussein Roba, Chairman Eastleigh Residents Community Association (ERCA).
“People no longer sell or buy at night because nobody wants to dare the police to a duel.”
A few months ago, the Government outlawed the alien card — apparently the only identity and security some of the traders held — making their stay in the country untenable.
“The government recently issued a directive that such people should either go back to their countries of origin or refugee camps,” says Eastleigh District Officer Charles Muiruri.
Some of the traders are reportedly fleeing to Somalia, Uganda and Dubai while others are said to be ‘melting’ into within the country — most notably at the Coast.
Analysts say the developments in Eastleigh — previously believed to be nexus of unexplained cash flows from piracy and sneaked goods from Somalia, vindicate a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) for the quarter ending June 2012. The report showed that unexplained forex flows dropped to the lowest level.
“There is widespread belief that some of the money used to fund the booming property market in Kenya and other businesses is from Somalia,” says Job Kihumba a director at Standard Investment Bank (SIB).
“It is likely that this money found its way to Eastleigh.”
According to the KNBS data, unexplained foreign money in Kenya’s banking system fell to Sh6.5 billion ($76.5 million) mid last year from a high of Sh170 billion ($2 billion) at the beginning of 2011 — the lowest in five years.
Cheap imports
Kenya had also been flooded by billions of shillings worth of goods imported through the Al-Shabaab controlled Somalia coastline — and sold cheaply into the market. However, this has severely been affected by the fall of Kismayu.
Provincial administrators say smugglers have been trying to sneak in goods from Ethiopia through Moyale into the area, but this has proved costly, especially with the influx of cheaper goods from China.
The security operation in Eastleigh started slightly over six months ago, but has intensified in the recent past following a series of blasts in the area.
It is believed the successful excursion of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF’s) in Somalia has helped stem piracy in Indian Ocean and blocked the routes used by smugglers to sneak in goods to the country.
“Eastleigh is at a critical crossroads and will likely emerge from the ongoing crisis looking quite different from the one we know today,” says Kihumba.
“Most businesses that operate there will be affected in some way, regardless of how the security operation unfolds.”
The exodus of moneyed immigrants, mostly of Somali origin, has also left property owners in Eastleigh chalking up huge losses in lost rent.
In fact, the provincial administration is now fighting to stem an explosive situation brewing between thousands of vacating tenants who are all demanding back their rent deposits and reluctant property owners, some of who are still repaying the loans they used to build the houses.
“It is true we are swamped by numerous cases between landlords and several tenants who are vacating,” says Muiruri.
Muiruri says the situation is so complex that in some instances, a property owner is swamped by more than 20 tenants all demanding their deposits back because they are relocating.
In a familiar tale of high-living in the boom years, followed by an uncomfortable return to reality, the landlords borrowed heftily from banks to construct houses for the incoming immigrants.
The exodus of the ‘refugees’ has triggered a plunge in the value of the assets the loans were based on — with some borrowers reportedly having trouble making repayments.
The fleeing traders have also left several business premises in prime areas like Garissa Lodge unoccupied.
A survey by Business Beat revealed a number of vacant business premises in Eastleigh’s business hub where 16 tenants vacated a mall referred to as Yaburiani last week.
According to Hussein, Sh500 million used to exchange hands in Eastleigh’s major business hub before the security operation, but things have since changed with estimates showing the figures could have plunged to Sh150 million.
A high-ranking provincial administrator who requested not to be named due to sensitivity of the matter confirmed the figures.
Besides local traders who come from various towns to buy stuff from Garissa Lodge, it has also been a key wholesale market for traders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
These people have started shying away from Eastleigh on growing perceptions of insecurity in Nairobi peri-urban shopping centre and most importantly, because the people they used to buy from are running away.
Incidentally, certain sectors of the Eastleigh economy have received a boost since the sporadic attacks and subsequent security operation with the most notable being security companies and taxi operators.
Providing alternative means of transport for staff unwilling to travel into branches in Eastleigh was the principal cost of the situation for two banks that have branches in the area.
“They have deployed more security personnel at their premises and we now have to pick and drop members of their staff who fear being caught in potentially explosive situations in the area,” says a taxi operator who requested not to be named.
It is booming business for taxi operators and security guards who now have extra duties, but the situation is not enjoyable because we also have to check what is happening behind our backs.”
There are now fears that the relocation of businesses from Eastleigh could have longer-term economic repercussions revenue collections.
The fall in property prices, reduction of business activities and its impact on the retail and hotel industries could also have far reaching ramifications in the country.
Financial institutions that provided loans towards the construction of some of these properties could be facing a potentially crippling situation as they could end up with assets in collaterals whose value is way below the amount given.
For example unofficial estimates show that Nairobi City Council would collect Sh50 million less in taxes than in the previous fiscal year, with loss of parking fees and other licences from traders responsible for a huge chunk of the loss.
The remainder is a result of the decreases in value of other property in the area and, interestingly, by a reduction in the value of hotels.
Khat, a stimulant drug, is chewed by around 90,000 people in the east African and Yemeni communities in the UK. But now the Home Office is considering banning the substance. Jamal Osman finds out why.
In an industrial estate in Southall, west London, thousands of boxes full of khat are delivered every week. The drug begins its journey from the hills of Kenya and arrives in the UK four times a week. It then makes its way to the depot, where dealers buy the herbal high to supply customers across the UK. The fresh leaves are chewed to achieve a state of mild euphoria. It has a stimulant effect similar to that of amphetamines.
Britain is the only country in the west where the product remains legal. The khat business generates over £400m in revenue for the British economy, and the chancellor of the exchequer also picks up a tidy sum in VAT revenue.
Around 90,000 people from the east African and Yemeni communities in the UK use it, especially the Somali community. But a Home Office report, which will be published on Wednesday, is to recommend regulating the product, and a ban is expected to follow later.
Not far from the depot in Southall lies Number 15, the best-known khat house in the country. Traditionally known as marfash, the khat house is open from midday till the early morning hours. Men sit around chewing the green leaf.
A little buzz
Mahdi Jama, a regular chewer in the marfash, cannot understand why anyone would bother people like him as the plant has been used for centuries by his community.
“It’s like vegetable but it gives a little bit buzz,” he said.
“It’s like saying we’ll ban alcohol because there are people who are alcoholic.”
However, anti-khat campaigners say it “is destroying the whole community”, causing health problems, unemployment and family breakdown. In particular, they are concerned about the spread of khat use among the younger generation, where the attitude is: “If it’s legal, it must be safe to consume it.”
Led by Abukar Awale, a former addict himself, the activists feel they are ever closer to achieving their objectives. It has been a long journey, however, and they have been trying to convince successive governments to listen.
The campaign started seven years ago with weekly visits to local khat houses. Once a week, the activists distribute leaflets with information about the harmful effects of the drug. Most people support them, but occasionally they get into arguments with khat-chewers who do not welcome their message. To reach more people, Abukar Awale started his own television show: Check Before You Chew. It is a phone-in programme where the viewers share their experience of khat use on one of the Somali satellite stations.
They then started attending local government meetings to influence key decision makers. As a result, some local authorities with a sizeable Somali population, such as Hillingdon, called for the regulation of khat to “give local authorities, the police and government agencies greater powers to control its importation, sale and use”.
Ban on khat
During the last election, the activists met politicians, offering them community votes. In return, they wanted their support for the ban on khat. Some politicians accepted the offer and supported the mission. Sayeeda Warsi, minister for faith and communities, announced that “a future Conservative government would legislate to make khat a classified drug.”
But the activists kept the pressure on the authorities. Playing the discrimination card, they accused the government of not taking the issue seriously since “it was not affecting real Brits”.
In 2010, when “meow-meow” – or mephedrone – was banned following the deaths of a number of young people in the UK, the anti-khat campaigners jumped on the bandwagon. They wanted to exploit the links between khat and mephedrone. Mephedrone is a synthetic substance based on the cathinone compounds found in the khat plant. They argued that since khat is widely available in the UK, people will find ways of producing meow-meow.
Last year, counter-terrorism officers working with their American counterparts arrested seven individuals across the UK. The group – all of them khat traders – were suspected of channelling the proceeds of an alleged smuggling enterprise to al-Qaeda-linked Islamists in Somalia.
And last month, those pushing for a ban organised a demonstration outside Downing Street: pray for a ban. It was about praying to a superior power, God, who could simply tell David Cameron to ban khat. If the report calls for tougher control on khat, the activists will believe their prayers have been partially answered.
But Abukar Awale and his friends will not accept anything other than an all-out ban.
“We will challenge any other decision,” he said.
“For the government, it’s not about how harmful this product is, it’s who is using it – and that is discrimination. Our lawyers have been preparing for this, and we will take legal action within the next three months.”
Back in the khat house in Southall, the message from the chewers is defiant. They say they “are just going to carry on chewing what ever happens”.
