By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – A visible exhausted president joined residents of Sha’ab area for Friday prayers.
The President H.E Ahmed Mahmoud Silanyo surprised residents of Sha’ab area when he performed his Friday prayers at a Al-farouk mosque near UNICEF offices where upon completion of their Friday Jama’a prayers the amazed residents started pointing and querying if it was really the president.
The amazement of the faithful was not of the president performing prayers but the non-existent of his usual large entourage of heavily armed security guards, ministers their assistants and assistants to assistants.
Other dignitaries performing their prayers at the Al-farouk mosque included former vice president Ahmed Yusuf Yasin whose house is next to the mosque, Kulmiye party leader Mr. Muse Bihi as well as a number of estate leaders.
The president’s arrival at the mosque was preceded by an inspection tour of some city areas he undertook solo and unaccompanied from mid- morning where he reportedly went round Hera-awr and Sha’ab estates of Kodbur and 26th June respectively. This tour is attributed to the visible exhaustion of the president after prayers.
On completion of prayers and subsequent tet-a-tet with some faithful’s at the AL-farouk mosque, president Silanyo travelled back to the presidency in a nondescript mark II vehicle owned and driven by an unbelieving city resident.
While this is not the first time for the president to make impromptu inspection tours, it is the first time for him to do so incognito.
