# Mukhtar Robow (Abu Mansur)

> Mukhtar Robow (born 1969): al-Shabaab co-founder and spokesman, his 2013 break and 2017 surrender, the 2018 South West election and arrest, and his role as minister from 2022.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/mukhtar-robow/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is he?

Mukhtar Robow is one of the few people to have held senior posts both in [al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) and in the federal government. This page records his public role from the sources, without taking sides.

## Early life

Wikipedia records that he was born on 10 October 1969 in Huddur, [Bakool](/en/regions/bakool/), and belongs to the Leysan clan of the Rahanweyn. He studied Islamic law at the University of Khartoum, worked for the al-Haramain Foundation, and fought with [al-Itihaad al-Islamiya](/en/institutions/al-itihaad-al-islamiya/) until 1996. In 2000 he went to Afghanistan ([Wikipedia, Mukhtar Robow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhtar_Robow), citing the US National Counterterrorism Center).

## In al-Shabaab, 2006–2013

He joined the Islamic Courts Union and then al-Shabaab, becoming its spokesman during the insurgency from 2007 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhtar_Robow)). Al Jazeera describes him as a co-founder, spokesman and deputy leader, on whom the US offered a US$5 million reward ([Al Jazeera, 5 August 2022](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/5/from-al-shabab-to-the-cabinet-somalias-move-fuels-debate)). Christopher Anzalone records that he and [Ahmed Abdi Godane](/en/people/ahmed-abdi-godane/) disagreed over strategy from 2008 ([CTC Sentinel, September 2014](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-life-and-death-of-al-shabab-leader-ahmed-godane/)).

In June 2013 he challenged Godane at [Barawe](/en/regions/barawa/); after two leading members were killed, he fled to his home district, and Godane's forces moved against his supporters that August ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhtar_Robow)).

## Surrender, 2017

On 23 June 2017 the US removed him from its Rewards for Justice list. On 13 August 2017 he surrendered to the government and, at a press conference in Mogadishu, denounced al-Shabaab and urged its members to leave ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhtar_Robow), citing Al Jazeera, CNN and Reuters).

## The South West election and arrest, 2018

In 2018 he stood for president of [South West State](/en/states/south-west-state/). The federal security ministry said he was ineligible; the state electoral commission cleared him. On 13 December 2018 he was arrested by Ethiopian AU troops and flown to Mogadishu. Wikipedia, citing Reuters and France 24, records that at least 12 people were killed in the unrest in Baidoa that followed. The UN envoy, Nicholas Haysom, questioned the legal basis for the arrest, and Somalia ordered him to leave the country ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhtar_Robow)). Al Jazeera reports that Robow was then held under house arrest for about three years ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/5/from-al-shabab-to-the-cabinet-somalias-move-fuels-debate)).

## Minister, 2022

On 2 August 2022 Prime Minister [Hamza Abdi Barre](/en/people/hamza-abdi-barre/) named him minister of endowments and religious affairs. Al Jazeera reported divided views. Zakaria Yusuf of the International Crisis Group said he could build a "counter-narrative" to al-Shabaab; [Afyare Elmi](/en/books/understanding-the-somalia-conflagration-elmi/) of the Heritage Institute said the appointment showed the government wanted to fight al-Shabaab on ideas, while concerns about impunity were valid ([Al Jazeera, 5 August 2022](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/5/from-al-shabab-to-the-cabinet-somalias-move-fuels-debate)).

## Read the primary sources yourself

- Al Jazeera, "From al-Shabab to the cabinet: Somalia's move fuels debate" (2022): [article](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/5/from-al-shabab-to-the-cabinet-somalias-move-fuels-debate).
- Al Jazeera, "Al-Shabab's Mukhtar Robow surrenders to government" (2017): [article](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/8/13/al-shababs-mukhtar-robow-surrenders-to-government).

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