Empowering our Community
Sharia Law under the UIC Hardline elements of the UIC have made major impingements on civil liberties, public expression and entertainment already, although we must be careful – the UIC’s federalist-clan structure makes it hard to draw conclusions from example... More »
UNTIL the night of June 15, Mpeketoni was not a household name in Kenya. It appears only on some maps as an administrative section of Lamu County, but in the past week it has been described as a town complete with police station and branches of the country’s t... More »
AS THE SOMALI LEADERS of al Shabaab have moved to reassert their authority, al Qaeda, along with the foreign fighters, has found itself marginalized. Osama bin Laden had always wanted to establish a foothold in Somalia for al Qaeda. But the country’s clan-base... More »
One afternoon two years into my captivity, in a dirty villa, I sat up on the mattress and noticed that my guard had left the room. His rifle lay on a mat. I considered grabbing it. The pirates were holding me in Galkacyo, a regional capital in central Somalia.... More »
Mpeketoni, site of the massacre on Sunday of at least 56 people, was created in the 1960s by a large influx of Kikuyu who had been displaced from their land in Central Kenya during the State of Emergency in the 1950s. The coastal town in Lamu county, which wa... More »
Raymond Marchand, President of Conoco Somalia 1. “Views of an Old Africa Hand.” Cable from US Embassy in Mogadishu to State Department Headquarters. 30 September 1990. Cable Number: Mogadishu 08487. Source: Freedom of Information Act release (2006-01-288) to K... More »
SOON AFTER JOINING al Shabaab, Ibrahim met the most famous American fighter in Somali history — a young U.S. citizen from Alabama, Omar Hammami, known in Somalia as Abu Mansour al Amriki. “He was a happy, young guy — typical Western,” Ibrahim recalls. Ibrahim ... More »
Post intervention civil war, pre UIC (1995-2005) Since then, the civil war has continued unabated. The smaller northern populations in Somaliland and Puntland have enjoyed relative stability, while elsewhere factions, militias and warlords have struggled to co... More »
eing desirous to make known to our friends the Powers (Sovereigns) of Europe the boundaries of Ethiopia, we have addressed also to you (your Majesty) the present letter. 10th April, 1891 These are the boundaries of Ethiopia:- Starting from the Italian boundary... More »
More than 3,000 hotel workers in Lamu County are jobless following the closure of six beach hotels. The resorts shut down due to lack of international guests, according to Lamu Tourist Association Vice-Chairman Ghalib Alwy. He said since last year, European to... More »
Several police officers were injured on Monday evening after Al-Shabaab attacked their convoy at Yumbis in Fafi Sub-County, Garissa County. The officers were travelling to Yumbis in four vehicles to reinforce the squad that was battling the militants who had a... More »
ON May 3rd two Muslim men with rifles attacked a security guard at a venue in Texas showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Both were shot dead before they killed anyone—they were incompetent terrorists, fortunately. The Islamic State claimed responsibility ... More »