Clan and regional factions contested SYL candidate list rankings in 1959

Evidence

Some of the local branch members accused the CC of tribalism because it supported a townsman against an “outsider.” This problem was resolved in favor of the “outsider.” A similar issue arose in Belet Weyne, where Sheikh Ali Jimale put his name on the top of the list, followed by Osman, despite the latter holding the presidencies of the party and the assembly. Sheikh Ali and his friends had accused Osman and Haji Farah Ali Omer of not favoring their kin group in party disputes. Leading area elders were present at the meeting at which the accusation was made and at which Osman offered to retire. These elders and many others came to Osman’s defense and reversed the rank order of the SYL list. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 367

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader study of Somali clan politics and how kin-group loyalties strained the nationalist party.