Somalia’s civil service commission shielded officials even against government dismissal demands.

Evidence

The government respected the independence of the Public Service Commission. Two instances highlight the professional protection the commission afforded civil servants, even when they transgressed, and the government’s readiness to abide by its rulings. The first case was that of Dalka, an independent monthly magazine popular among educated Somalis, and the anonymous author of a monthly column very critical of the government. The author seemed to have access to classified state information. An investigation was conducted to determine the identity of the author and the source. It was discovered that Yusuf Dirir, an economics graduate from a British university and a consul in the Somali embassy in Addis Ababa, was the culprit and had used the diplomatic bag to transmit the articles to his friends in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who passed them on to the editor of Dalka. With this information, the minister of Foreign Affairs intercepted and opened the suspected envelope without a warrant and discovered an article destined for Dalka with Dirir’s signature. Dirir was summoned to Mogadishu. He stridently argued that the minister had no right to open his private letter, although he could not justify his wrongful use of the diplomatic pouch. The minister accused him of illegal use of state service and the publishing of confidential information. The case was submitted to the Public Service Commission, with a demand that Dirir be dismissed. After some careful deliberations, the commission reprimanded Dirir rather than discharging him. Understandably disappointed, the government, nonetheless, complied. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 837

Categorization

• SHARE: A concrete instance of a diplomatic bag used to smuggle anti-government journalism by a sitting consul — a detail that would fascinate a diplomatic historian.