BAIDOA (Halbeeg News) – A former rebel commander and spokesman of Al-Shabaab, Mukhtar Robow, known by his Al-Shabaab nom de guerre, Abu Mansoor, has declared his candidature to run for the presidency in the upcoming elections in the South West State of Somalia.
Mr. Robow was the subject of a $5 million bounty from the United States for his role with the Al-Qaeda linked Islamist group before he was removed from U.S. terror list.
Speaking to the media in Baidoa town, shadowy former Al-Shabaab said he was ready to run for president in the upcoming elections in the Southwest State of Somalia.
“I hereby inform you that people of Southwest asked me to run for the presidency of South West state. Today I announce that I accepted it and I will contest,” he said.
The campaign slogan of former Al-Shabaab leader, Robow’s indicates “SECURITY AND JUSTICE.”
Prior to his announcement, several netizens have posted photos of Mr. Robbow on Social media, claiming he was preparing his entry to the 2018 Southwest Presidential race.
He defected to the federal government late last year after his split with former Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane five years ago that led him to seek safety in his hometown in Somalia’s Southwest Bakool region.
Last Month, Mr. Robbow attended a meeting between the country’s Lower House Speaker, Mohamed Mursal Sheikh, and the regional state’s potential presidential candidates where he hinted his readiness to contest for the top position of the state.
Mr. Robbow was born on 10 October 1969 in Hudur, in the Bakool region in southern Somalia.
He studied at a local Quranic school and later continued his religious education in the mosques of Mogadishu as well as those of his home region.
Robow also studied Islamic law in the 1990s at the University of Khartoum in Sudan.
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