Police in Somaliland arrested King Osman Buur-madow after arriving at Hargeisa Airport on March 15, 2012.
King Osman who is a prominent Somali traditional leader had disagreements with president Silanyo and some of his cabinet ministers.
He has publicly criticised the actions and practices of some ministers of Kulmiye government accusing them of being extremists. The king also revealed gaffs in a trip that Somaliland government delegation claimed to have gone to China in 2011 while actually landing in Hong Kong , after they were denied entry to mainland China.
King Osman was also arrested in the United Arab Emirates without any formal charges on his way back from the US.
This King is known for his success in brokering the peace agreement in Puntland during the conflict between president Abdullahi Yusuf and his rival General Ade Muse in 2003. During this period Ade Muse and many of his supporters fled to the Eastern region of Somaliland where they were hosted until the peace agreement was signed with the late Abdullahi Yusuf .
King Buurmadow also gained popularity when he participated in the Africa Kings conference hosted by the late Col. Gaddafi of Libya in Tripoli in Sept, 9 , 2009.
King Buurmadow was sentenced to one year prison earlier this month for un-related presumed offence after the prosecuters failed to provide evidence against the case of the King .
I am with freedom of speech and think that the kings’ only fault was criticising the current Kulmiye government of Somaliland.
Keeping Buurnadow in prison by Somaliland authorities without proper judicial process is a stain in Somaliland political history and I advice the Somaliland government to immediately release the king before further damage is done to the democratic processes and the freedom of speech in the country..
Please support this cause and tell this young and emerging democracy in the volatile Horn of Africa to respect Human rights and freedom of speech inorder to progress towards full democracy and avoid the anarchy that is persistant in Somalia .
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