President Yoweri Museveni was a notable absence at the inauguration of new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in Mogadishu because of a scheduled visit to Tanzania, sources have said.
Mr Museveni is a keen supporter of the war against the militant group Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and in 2007 Uganda was the first country to send peacekeepers to the Horn of Africa country that has been ravaged by terrorism and clan fights.
Meanwhile, other leaders that attended the investiture of President Mohamed aka Formaajo earlier this afternoon include Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, while the Eritrea leader is absent.
The former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is also in attendance, and he has been roundly hailed by the three presidents for overseeing an orderly transition of power after he lost the last polls.
In his speech the new President, who holds both US and Somali citizenship, said he would focus on security, fighting corruption and reconciliation. He also said unemployment was high on his agenda of priorities.
