In a surprise move, the Somali government appointed a new ambassador to neighbouring Kenya, replacing Mohamed Ali Nur ‘’Americo’’, the longest-serving ambassador to the East African nation.
The move was revealed on Thursday following a high-level ministerial meeting held in Mogadishu. Jamal Hassan, a senior diplomat in the Somali embassy in US was named as the replacement.
In a Press release from the Somali government, there was no clear verification of the change. Four other ambassadors were named without identifying the countries they will be serving in.
Mr Americo, a veteran diplomat, was appointed as the Somali envoy to Kenya in 2004 by the former late TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf, serving that role for more than a decade.
Speculations have been going around saying that the diplomat will be appointed as the Mogadishu mayor. Government officials nor the ex-ambassador haven’t commented about the rumours.
During his tenure, Mr Americo remarkably managed to regain the embassy premises sold to an investor 20 years ago, after opening a case in Nairobi high court in 2010.
However, Somalis across the globe celebrated the sense of nationalism that arose from the case won.
Further, the government decided to reopen its embassies in Malaysia, Burundi and Germany which it had closed due to lack of sufficient budget.
Horseed Media
Somalia’s longest-serving ambassador to Kenya Replaced
Published: April 2, 2015
