Hargeysa, Somaliland, (SL Times) – An acknowledgement letter presented at an April 9 press conference by Somaliland’s minister of Minerals in order to discredit press reports that he had misappropriated funds donated by his government in support of the Somaliland community in Sheffield, UK, has now proven false. The letter, which is dated 4th April 2014 and purported to have come from the Somaliland community in Sheffield, was written in the form of an acknowledgement for receipt of $20,000 (twenty thousand dollars) from minister Duale by the community.
It was addressed in the “To Whom It May Concern” fashion and signed by a sender whose name and job title appear as being Adam Yusuf and chairman of the Israac Somaliland Community Association in Sheffield, purportedly registered under number 518645.
A simple investigation carried out by the Somaliland Times reveals that the letter in question was written to misrepresent Israac Somali Community Association, a pan-Somali organization to which the above registration number actually belonged as evidenced by the records of UK’s Charity Commission. It appears that the word “Somali” in the letter head of the original organization’s stationary was slightly modified to “Somaliland” to suit the purpose of the falsification which was to prove that Mr. Duale had in fact handed over the money he had been accused of misappropriating to the actual beneficiary, the Somaliland community in Sheffield.
After successfully lobbying their City Council to recognize the Republic of Somaliland on April 2, 2014, the Somaliland community in Sheffield has since been receiving heaps of praise from other Somalilanders in the diaspora as well as the public back at home.
The Somaliland government reacted by contributing a token amount of $20,000 in support of a budget for celebrations which were to be held in the city to mark the occasion.
President Sillanyo dispatched his minister of Minerals to Sheffield entrusting with him the task of getting the money to the community organizers.
On April 7, our Somali language sister newspaper Haatuf reported that minister Duale had misappropriated the funds intended for community and on the afternoon of the same day both Haatuf and this newspaper were closed down by the government.
At the April 9 press conference that Mr. Duale held in Hargeysa, he responded by describing Haatuf’s report as a totally fabricated lie and the latest episode in a long smear campaign waged, according to him, by the newspaper’s publisher, Yusuf Gabobe, to tarnish his reputation.
He said that he delivered the money to the community less travel and accommodation expenses incurred by him as well as Foreign minister Mohamed Bihi Younis.
Mr. Duale then boastfully asked government-employed reporters who were covering the press conference to come forward and have a look at copies of a letter in which an organization called the Israac Somaliland Community Association acknowledged receipt from minister Duale of $20,000 which was the whole amount sent by the government.
It is still a puzzle as to why the minister didn’t do his arithmetic well enough to look more sensible.
On verification, the Somaliland Times found that no organization with the name of Israac Somaliland Community Association was registered with the UK’s Charity Commission.
A further investigation has shown that Adam Yusuf, the sender of the faked acknowledgement letter, is one of minister Duale’s many relatives living in Sheffield.