President Uhuru Kenyatta joined several dignitaries in Mogadishu for the inauguration of their new president Mohamed Sheikh Mohamud.
Kenyatta was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo, Agriculture’s Peter Munya and Eugene Wamalwa of Devolution.
Those in attendance were; Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Djibouti leader Omar Ismael Guelleh.
Other leaders in attendance include South Sudan 2nd Vice President Taban Deng Gai, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly and Uganda’s Defence Minister Vicent Bamulangaki.
In his inaugural speech, Mohamud said that Somalia will not get involved in international rivalries and will stay neutral.
As the country is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 40 years, he appealed for support to avert famine.
Speaking at the ceremony, Kenyatta praised the peaceful transfer of power in Somalia and pledged to work with the new government.
Mohamud won the presidency after an intense election, defeating Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, in a third round of voting. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud becomes the first ex-president in Somalia to be reelected.
In a joint speech at the brief but colorfully prepared handover ceremony, former President Farmajo called on the country’s population to support the new leader.
He said, “… I want to advise them to work with the new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, because the election has been completed and he will start the work and everything he does will be for the people of Somalia ….”