President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has rejected the expulsion of the African Union (AU) Ambassador to Somalia from the country.
His move followed Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble’s decision to declare Ambassador Francisco Madeira persona non grata.
Madeira is the AU Commission (AUC) Ambassador to Somalia.
Roble expelled him from Somalia late at night on April 6 for “engaging in acts incompatible” with his status.
Immediately, President Farmaajo denied authorizing Ambassador Madeira’s expulsion.
Further, Farmaajo said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not submitted any report to his office on the acts that Ambassador Madeira had allegedly committed.
Ambassador Madeira has been in Somalia since 2015.
His expulsion comes hot in the heels of the decision the Somali government made to declare his deputy, Simon Mulongo, persona non grata back in November 2021.
Farmaajo’s rejection of the Prime Minister’s expulsion of Ambassador Madeira is likely to open yet another point of conflict between them.