Wednesday August 17, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - Mukhtar Robow Ali Abu Mansour, Somalia's Religious Affairs Minister, met with Norwegian Charge d'Affaires Haakon Svane at his office in Mogadishu on Wednesday, the first time a western diplomat has met with the former Al Shabaab leader.
In a tweet, Svane expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet the new minister.
"Thankful for the opportunity to meet Somalia's new Minister for Religious Affairs and Endowment Sheikh Mukhtar Robow and deputy minister Salah Sharif today in their office to discuss the federal government's priorities and ambitions in this field."
Robow, who once condemned democracy as "unbelief" (kufr), was sitting in a prison cell when Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre appointed him as head of religious affairs in his new cabinet earlier this month.
Mukhtar Robow Ali was once the subject of a $5 million US bounty for his role as a founding member in the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant insurgent group. After a long-running feud with the group's leader, he defected in 2013.
Robow's decision to run for president of Somalia's South West State upended Somali federal and regional politics. It resulted in the federal government, backed by Ethiopian military forces, violently suppressing protests after disqualifying and arresting him.
Robow's decision to run for president of Somalia's South West State upended Somali federal and regional politics. It led to the federal government violently crushing protests and ultimately arresting him to prevent him from campaigning.
Nicholas Haysom, the UN secretary general's special envoy for Somalia at the time, was expelled by Somalia's government after questioning the legality of Robow's arrest in a letter to the interior minister.