President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud formally handed over reins of power by Farmaajo

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has officially taken over as the 10th President of the Somali Republic after being handed over the reins of power by former President Mohamed Hussein Farmaajo in a brief ceremony held at The Villa Somalia, on Monday. 

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who holds the record as the first Somali ex-president to be reelected for a second term, was elected after more than a year of political turmoil due to the delay in elections. 

During the event, Farmaajo finally broke the silence over nearly 5,000 cadets secretly sent to Eritrea for training between 2019 and 2020 and were never repatriated home, leaving families shattered for not knowing the whereabouts of their kin.

A UN report issued last year said the Somali youth were spotted in Tigray fighting alongside Ethiopian and Eritrean forces against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a claim the Farmaajo Administration denied vehemently.

However, Farmaajo today handed over a file of the missing soldiers to the new president and informed him that the soldiers were done with training and were delayed in order to avoid impact on political situation and elections, adding that they were now ready to be repatriated back home

Today’s handover ceremony precedes the official inauguration ceremony scheduled for Wednesday 1 June, 2022.