| Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaam | |
| Office: | 1st President of Jubaland |
| Term Start: | 1 October 2012 |
| Predecessor: | Mohamed Abdi Mohamed as the President of Azania |
| Birth Place: | Kebri Dahar, Ogaden |
| Office1: | 1st Chairman of the Raskamboni Movement |
| Termstart1: | 7 October 2009 |
| Predecessor1: | Office Established |
Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaam (Somali: Sheekh Axmed Maxamed Islaam, Arabic: شيخ أحمد محمد إسلام) better known as Ahmed Madobe, is a Somali Politician and a former Militant who is the current President of the Jubaland State of Somalia and the Chairman of the Raskamboni Movement.
As a member of Islamic Courts Union (ICU) Madobe served as the governor of Jubaland in 2006. When the ICU withdrew deep into southern Somalia during the Ethiopian invasion, he retreated towards the Kenyan border where he was wounded, and later received medical treatment at an Ethiopian hospital. He was placed in prison where remained for the remainder of the Ethiopian military occupation. After the Ethiopian withdrawal from Somalia in January 2009, Madobe was released and he joined the newly formed government of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. On 4 April 2009, he announced his resignation from the parliament, claiming that he had only joined to get out of prison in Ethiopia and further warned Sharif's government to be "careful of foreign conspiracies."[1]
Madobe later joined Hizbul Islam and served as the local commander for Kismayo. In 2009, two Hizbul Islam factions (Raskamboni Movement and Muskar Anole) and Al-Shabaab held Kismayo jointly. After Al-Shabaab named its own governing council, excluding the other factions, it was denounced by Hizbul Islam.[2] In October 2009, Hizbul Islam forces led by Madobe fought against Al-Shabaab over the city of Kismayo.[3] When conflict later broke out between Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabaab, Madobe was blamed by Shabaab for the outbreak of violence.[4]
Madobe who was the leader of the Raskamboni Movement was elected as the interim head of the Jubaland Administration on the 1st of October 2012 after his forces with the support of the Kenya Defence Forces captured the strategic port city of Kismayo from Al-Shabaab, Eight months later on the 15th of May 2013 he was elected as the interim president of Jubaland in a Transition period of two years.[5] [6]
The government of Jubaland, the Independent Election Committee of Jubaland and the Jubaland electorate, the federal constitution and the state constitution recognized Madobe as the legitimate president of Jubaland. The Somali Federal Government, in violation of both federal and state constitutions, recognised Madobe only as interim president.[6]
On 28 August 2013, Madobe signed a national reconciliation agreement in Addis Ababa with the Somali federal government.[7] Endorsed by the federal State Minister for the Presidency Farah Abdulkadir on behalf of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the pact was brokered by the Foreign Ministry of Ethiopia and came after protracted bilateral talks.
Under the terms of the agreement, for a two-year period Jubaland would be administered by a Juba Interim Administration and led by the region's incumbent president, Madobe. The regional president would serve as the chairperson of a new Executive Council, to which he would appoint three deputies. Management of Kismayo's seaport and airport would also be transferred to the Federal Government after a period of six months, and revenues and resources generated from these infrastructures would be earmarked for Jubaland's service delivery and security sectors as well as local institutional development.
Additionally, the agreement included the integration of Jubaland's military forces under the central command of the Somali National Army (SNA), and stipulated that the Juba Interim Administration would command the regional police.[7] [8] UN Special Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay hailed the pact as "a breakthrough that unlocks the door for a better future for Somalia,"[9] with AUC, UN, EU and IGAD representatives also present at the signing.[8]
On 15 August 2015, Madobe was re-elected by the Jubaland parliament with 68 votes as President of Jubaland State.
Madobe controversially won the elections of 2019 with no significant opponent.[10] The opposition said Ahmed was undemocratic during his previous term commission and worked to skew results in his favour.[11]
In August 2019 Madobe was sworn into office for four years.[6] [12] He won more than two-thirds of the votes cast by the semi-autonomous region's lawmakers in the port city of Kismayu.[13]
The United Nations had called on all stakeholders to hold a “single electoral process that is credible, inclusive, fair and peaceful", but nevertheless the Federal Government of Somali boycotted the election backing a loyalist in a parallel election.
Tensions between FGS and Jubaland State escalated in March, when heavy fighting broke out near the Kenyan border between Somali troops and Jubaland forces. Kenya also accused FGS of violating its territorial integrity.[14]
The FGS faced criticism from observers for engaging in political feuds with federal states to gain control in the upcoming election, rather than focusing on the fight against Islamist group Al-Shabaab. In June 2020 the FGS recognised Madobe, but only as interim president of Jubaland State with a two-year mandate, contrary to the Jubaland State constitution which provides for a four-year mandate.[15]
See main article: 2024 Jubaland presidential election and Constitutional crisis in Somalia. On 28 November 2024, amid a dispute over the holding of presidential election in Jubaland, a judge in the latter region issued an arrest warrant against federal president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on charges of treason, inciting a civil war, and organizing an armed uprising to disrupt the constitutional order. In response, the federal government issued an arrest warrant against Madobe for treason and revealing classified information to foreign entities.[16]