An American security giant said that it struck a multi-million dollar security deal with the fragile government of Somalia. But the Somali government is denying the existence of such deal.
A spokesman for the Michigan-based CSS Global Inc. told the VOA Somali Service that his company sealed the deal last week to protect top Somali officials and train security and anti-piracy forces.
“CSS does plan to provide [protection services] to, for example, the president and the prime minister,” said John Truscott, the company spokesman. “In addition to protection of some of the top officials, there will be some training of security forces.”
But questions remain over the authenticity of the person who signed the deal on behalf of the Somali government.
Truscott wouldn’t say who signed the deal on behalf the Somali government. But a local newspaper reported that a man claiming to “a special envoy” signed the deal.
The man, Ali Hassan Gulaid, said in a statement to the paper that he’s “confident the expertise of the CSS Global senior staff will prove to be a valuable asset to us in our efforts to establish a safe and secure Somalia for our citizens.”
But Gulaid is neither a Somali official, nor does he have an authorization to represent the Somali government, according to Somali government officials and diplomats.
“The Somali government has not signed a security agreement with an American private security firm,” said Idd Beddel, the deputy Somali ambassador to the United Nations. “
Beddel said the task of protecting Somali government officials and key installations is aptly handled by the African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM.
Beddel’s statement is corroborated by a senior aid to the Somali president, who asked to remain anonymous, because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
“Mr. Gulaid is acting on his own,” said the official, who was in Washington just a few days ago.
Reached by phone in Washington, Gulaid declined to go on the record for this story, but he confirmed the existence of the deal. He maintained that he was acting at the behest of a “top Somali official.”
A longtime resident of the Washington metropolitan area, Gulaid is widely known among the Somali community as a freewheeling politician who consistently claimed that he’s the official representative of successive Somali governments.
Gulaid said he has “authentic credentials” to prove his position.
CSS Global Inc. seemed unfazed by the apparent confusion surrounding the veracity of the person who supposedly signed the deal for the Somali government.
“I know that there had been meetings with the president and the prime minister involved,” said Truscott, the spokesman. “So, they’re aware of the contract.”
Asked about the amount of money and the number of personnel involved in the deal, Truscott said the Somali government asked them to not divulge details of the deal. Doing so might compromise the safety of our people, he said.
