Villa Somalia behind cancellation of Nairobi rally-Abdishakur

Opposition politician Abdirahman Abdishakur has lashed out at Villa Somalia accusing it of being behind the cancellation of a political rally he was due to preside over Wednesday in Nairobi.

The Wadajir party leader said in a tweet he was disappointed by the move by Kenyan authorities to cancel the meeting following pressure from Villa Somalia.

“I am deeply disappointed by the cancellation of the today’s events as a result of pressure by Villa Somalia,” said Abdishakur.

The embattled politician who had been barred by the courts from travelling outside the country until recently also pointed fingers at the international community for ‘not reacting to signs of suppression’.

“This could be avoided if the international community promptly and decisively reacted to the first signs of suppression of freedom of speech by Farmaajo Administration.”

National Assembly speaker majority leader in Kenya Aden Duale defended the move to cancel the meeting noting the country’s laws prohibited foreign politician from holding rallies in Kenya warning against attempts to destabilise the Federal Government.

“According to our laws a foreign politician cannot hold a political rally in the country,” Duale who has previously cautioned Somali politicians holding meetings in Nairobi said. “We can’t allow politicians to use Kenya as a base to destabilize the Somali government. We want to dedicate time and resources to build the Somali government.”