At the time of arrest Munir Ahmed of the Somaliland national TV was in company of UCID party presidential candidate Jamal Ali Hussein
By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – Police in Hargeisa are holding a Munir Ahmed Egal a journalist with the state owned Somaliland National TV-SLNtv.
During the time of arrest the journalist who also doubles as the editor in chief of www.somalilandroday.com was in the company of Jamal Ali Hissein the presidential candidate of opposition party UCID.
“As we were entering Mansoor hotel for lunch today, a heavily armed police detailed blocked our car and forcefully evicted journalist Munir” said Jamal Ali while narrating the harrowing incident.
The opposition politician who requested the police to follow legal procedures of arrest by showing the relevant court, says the response he received was “We are orders of the minister thus not require an arrest warrant from the court” which is the regular excuse during operations that end up derailing journalists who have fallen out of favor with the authorities of their freedom.
While the incarceration of Journalists in Somaliland is a normal as making a call, the norm is usually the arrest of those in the employ of independent media thus the confinement of Munir is perturbing in liue of him being a ministry of Information operative very popular for production of pro- government programs both at the SLNtv and the Somaliland language website he runs.
Journalist Munir who is also vying for membership of Parliament as a representative of Sahil region in elections slated for March 2017, it is worth mentioning that he was closely aligned with former presidency minister Hirsi Haji Ali who resigned his powerful post after difference within ruling Kulmiye Party.
In the Hirsi heydays the now in custody Munir was the ever present reporter in any foreign missions involving the head of state or others of importance like the Turkish hosted and internationally sanctioned talks with Somalia.
