The Somali Police Force Turns 69

For the first time in two decades, The Somali Police Force (SPF) celebrated, on Dec. 20, 2012, the 69th anniversary of its founding at General Kahiye Police Academy in Mogadishu.

The Police, in groups of specialized units as marked varying dress colors and with their commanders leading, marched on the grounds of the academy to impress a city that has known no law and order for over twenty years.

If anything, this signals an improving return to normality and a promising strength for the premier law enforcement agency that was disbanded in 1991 at the onset of the country’s civil war.

While still under reconstruction, The SPF have shown a growing capacity to maintain security of various neighborhoods in the capital city including taking part in special operations, crime prevention, managing traffic, investigating crimes and protecting government institutions and VIPs.

Sharif Sheikhuna Maye is the current chief of the police.

What's Next for Somalia After the Transition?

Watch some of the current members of the Somali Federal parliament explain the goings-on in Somalia's post-transitional governance. Main points: 1. NGOs monopoly of power and malpractices: the danger of attracting and managing NGOs 2.Non-functional public institutions and their fight for power 3. Incompetent public leaders 4. Wide spread clanism 5. Mindless corruption and theft of public covers 6. Lack of civic consciousness 7.Low quality human capital 8. non-existent quality standards whether academic, institutional and individual 9. Rich natural resources in the midst of wide spread poverty 10.Locals versus diaspora competition for jobs and power

Will Sandy Hook Gun Violence Change U.S Gun Culture?

If you have been following the news this weekend, the tragic death of 26 people in Newtown has dominated the news cycle.

Adam Lanza, a 20-year old gunman took away the lives of 20 kindergarten children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, Dec. 14, throwing the hearts of the nation into a sudden grief.

This massacre comes in the wake of July 2012 Aurora shootings that killed 12 people, the August 2012 Wisconsin Sikh temple murder of six people and the 2011 Tucson Arizona terror in which congresswoman Gabby Gifford was shot in the head and six others killed.

But the saddening truth however is none of the earlier mass killings has resulted in any action to control civilian gun use. Worse even, you wonder when the collective conscience of the American public will rise up to say enough is enough in order to save more lives in the recent future.

It remains to be seen whether Friday’s gun violence will act as a catalyst to enact stricter gun laws and thus change the gun culture in the United States.