Mukhtar Robow

Robow was born on 10 October 1969[1] in Hudur, in the Bakool region southern Somalia. He studied at a local Qur'anic school, and later continued his religious education in the mosques of Mogadishu as well as those of his home region. A member of the Rahaweyn and more specifically of the Leysan clan which is particularly well represented in the South West State of Somalia. Robow also studied Islamic law in the 1990s at the University of Khartoum in Sudan.

Robow and other leading Al-Shabaab members challenged the leadership of Ahmed Abdi Godane (Moktar Ali Zubeyr) at Barawe in June 2013. Godane killed two of the leading members, and Robow fled to his home district.[2][3] Godane's forces launched an offensive against Robow's supporters, it was reported in August 2013.[4]

On 23 June 2017, United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed him Reward for Justice (RFJ) list following discussions was made with the Somali government after a US$5 million bounty was placed on him for information leading to his location on 7 June 2012.[5][6]

On 13 August 2017, he surrendered to the Somali Government authorities.[7] In a press conference held in Mogadishu shortly after, he denounced Al-Shabaab and called on its members to quit the group.[8]

A year later, Robow was pushing the envelope again. The charismatic former Shabaab leader officially declared he was running for regional elections originally set for 17 November and later postponed to 19 December. Mukhtar Robow, also known as Abu Mansour, made the announcement to hundreds of his supporters in a welcoming rally in the South Western town of Baidoa.[9]

The enthusiasm, however, was not shared by the internationally backed Somali federal government in Mogadishu. In a sharp rebuke, Somalia's internal security ministry released a statement that Mukhtar Robow was not eligible to run for the regional elections. The problem, though, is that Somalia does not have a formal constitution and, legally, the powers of the federal and state government have not been adequately detailed. It was unclear whether the federal authorities have the ability to enforce a ban on a regional presidential candidate. Al Shabaab too has denounced the political ambitions of the group's highest profile defector. Ironically, the federal authorities and al Shabaab find themselves on the same side of the Robow candidacy controversy.[10][11]

Worried about Robow's popularity, the federal government has sent at least one high-level official to try to persuade him to step aside.

The electoral commission, dismissing Mogadishu's demands, has awarded a certificate of eligibility to Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur.

Mukhtar Robow was officially cleared by the South West State Electoral Commission to contest in the December elections despite early protest by the Federal government seeking to have him barred. The Coalition for Change, which has thrown its weight behind Mukhtar Robow, issued a statement after the polls were postponed. The group said it fears the government is planning to rig because the new date is not favourable for international observers as most of them will then have left Somalia for the end of the year festivities.

Some 150 elite Somali forces, armed with DShK rifles, were deployed to Baidoa to physically block Robow from accessing the election venue.

On 7 Nov 2018 The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) warned of presidential election in Somalia's South West State have the potential to lead to violence and called on all parties to ensure that the electoral process proceeds in accordance with the established rules and avoids any behaviour which may lead to conflict or undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

• Somali Islamist leader vows holy war against 'Christian invaders'. Agence France-Presse, 9 October 2007