The Executive Committee of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) wishes to publicly denounce the unscrupulous act of the Minister of Information of the Federal Government of Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Hayir, who interfered, manipulated and conspired with new chief justice of Somalia, Ibrahim Idle Suleban, from 18th to 20th July 2016 in order to secure a letter on NUSOJ.

The Minister of Information Mohamed Abdi Hayir, using influence of his same clan affiliation with Chief Justice Ibrahim Idle Suleban, obtained a letter through dubious way from Chairperson of Supreme Court in order to trigger fresh anti-union attacks against NUSOJ from his Ministry and security establishments of the Federal Government. This letter was delivered to NUSOJ by members of security forces, questioning if this is how independent justice system should be working.

NUSOJ strongly condemns on the acceptance by Ibrahim Idle Suleban to write a letter on 20 July 2016 under the inspiration of the Minister of Information about the union which was addressed to the Ministry of Information and copied to other ministries, security authorities and other government institutions without any due process, fair hearing or any knowledge of our union and its legitimate leadership.

The imputations go to the very root of the Rule of Law, and the Separation of Powers, the very independence which the fragile judiciary system of Somalia is expected to enjoy or maintain as a facet of democracy and sovereign nation.

The act of the Minister of Information and the subsequent undertaking of the Chief Justice seek to call Somalia’s emerging system of governance into disrepute. The action undermines the confidence in a fair and impartial judicial system.

"System of justice is bolstered by public confidence. Obtaining such a letter through clan affiliation or the sound of Minister’s name only serve to undermine that public confidence in the judiciary. Clearly we see a broken justice system that needs to be reformed in order to get smartest and wisest judges that are not appointed on clan power-sharing,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.

NUSOJ is fully aware of the on-going conspiracy to use security forces once against to endanger the safety of its members and leaders, by denying the union and its members their freedoms of expression, association and assembly.

Mohamed Abdi Hayir has a history of enjoying impunity after he and his Ministry lost a Supreme Court case filed by NUSOJ on 4 February 2016. He defied with contempt the authority, justice, and dignity of the Supreme Court when they lost the case. Hayir has since been battling the removal of the former Chief Justice and the chairperson of the Regional Appeals Court. He is ill-famed for being anti-trade union.

Having damaged confidence in impartial justice by demonstrating that the current justice system is not clan blind, is not impartial, is not neutral, and is applying a rule of law governed by the will of a Minister at the expense of the citizens, the Minister of Information opted to promote and engender a lawless society where his dissatisfactions lead to chaos and anarchy.

"The action of the Minister of Information and the letter he obtained is just a dying horse's last kick. It carries no weight. Our union and our members will not respect a document obtained through clan affiliation or the sound of minister’s name,” declared Osman.

NUSOJ reiterates its call to the current Federal Government of Somalia to leave legacy and respect fully the main principles that guarantee the independence of judiciary and the principles of fairness and due process.

ENDs