Military and armed-group figures
Mukhtar Robow (Abu Mansur)
Mukhtar Robow (born 1969, Huddur) was a co-founder, spokesman and deputy leader of al-Shabaab. He broke with its leader Ahmed Godane in 2013, surrendered to the government in August 2017 and denounced the group. In December 2018 he was arrested while standing for president of South West State. In August 2022 he became federal minister of endowments and religious affairs, the only former senior al-Shabaab leader to hold a cabinet post.
Mukhtar RobowMukhtar Robow Ali · Abu Mansur
- Lived
- 1969 to today
- Known as one of
- Military and armed-group figures
- Era
- Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 4 sources
Who is he?
Mukhtar Robow is one of the few people to have held senior posts both in 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, 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 until 1996. In 2000 he went to Afghanistan (Wikipedia, 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). 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). Christopher Anzalone records that he and Ahmed Abdi Godane disagreed over strategy from 2008 (CTC Sentinel, September 2014).
In June 2013 he challenged Godane at Barawe; after two leading members were killed, he fled to his home district, and Godane's forces moved against his supporters that August (Wikipedia).
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, citing Al Jazeera, CNN and Reuters).
The South West election and arrest, 2018
In 2018 he stood for president of 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). Al Jazeera reports that Robow was then held under house arrest for about three years (Al Jazeera).
Minister, 2022
On 2 August 2022 Prime Minister 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 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).
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Wikipedia, Mukhtar Robow · en.wikipedia.org
- Al Jazeera, 5 August 2022 · aljazeera.com
- CTC Sentinel, September 2014 · ctc.westpoint.edu
- article · aljazeera.com
Mukhtar RobowMukhtar Robow Ali · Abu Mansur
- Lived
- 1969 to today
- Known as one of
- Military and armed-group figures
- Era
- Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 4 sources
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