In Remembrance and Condolence
With profound sorrow and solemn reflection, we extend our heartfelt condolences on the passing of Jama Ali Jama and General Adde Muse Hersi. Their lives were intertwined with the early, turbulent birth of Puntland State—a chapter of history into which their names are indelibly etched. May Allah in His infinite mercy grant them peace, forgive their shortcomings, and bestow patience and strength upon their families, friends, comrades, and all who mourn them.
They lived and led during one of the most fragile periods in modern Somali history—a time when Puntland was in its first breath, its institutions mere sketches, and political disputes too often descended into armed confrontation. In such volatility, decisions were forged under immense pressure, shaped by a confluence of fear, ambition, miscalculation, and the heavy burden of legacy.
History records that during the military confrontation of 2000–2001, both men committed grave strategic and political misjudgments.
The First Error: A Misplaced Equation
They operated under the belief that control of Bosaso—the vital port on the Gulf of Aden—equated to control of Puntland itself.This view tragically reduced the nascent state to a mere geographic and economic prize. In reality, Puntland was not just a port or a revenue stream. It was—and remains—a political project, a collective will, and an emerging state sustained by shared sacrifice and a legitimacy that transcends territory.
The Second, Deeper Error: A Failure of Vision
They interpreted the conflict through a dangerously narrow lens—as an intra-clan struggle within the Mohamud Saleimaan.This perspective blinded them to a fundamental truth: Puntland represented a historic covenant among the eastern and northeastern Darood clans, a union forged to defend a new political order against the tides of fragmentation. In missing this, they overlooked the broad-based social and political consensus that had already crystallized around Puntland’s survival and sovereignty.
The cost of these errors was high, paid not only in their personal destinies but in the stability and cohesion of that fragile moment.
Yet, to remember is not to simplify. History renders no leader as purely angel or demon. Each is a product of their time, navigating imperfect choices under the weight of impossible circumstances.
As we honor their memory, let us do so with humility and historical honesty. May their story serve as an enduring lesson: that a state cannot be held by a port alone; that legitimacy is never merely clan arithmetic; and that unity, born of collective struggle, becomes a force not easily broken.
May Allah grant Jama Ali Jama and General Adde Muse Hersi His utmost mercy and eternal rest. And may Somalia, through reflection on its painful past, continue to walk the path toward a more peaceful and just future.
Further reading:
THE LATE ADVOCATE YUSUF HAJI NUR
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Bibliography
1. Ken Menkhaus, Somalia: State Collapse and the Threat of Terrorism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 47–69.
2. Ioan M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, 4th ed. (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), 285–292.
3. Ismail H. Warsame, Talking Truth to Power: Essays on Somali Governance, Federalism, and State Collapse (Nairobi: Warsame Digital Media, 2019), 112–126.
4. Abdi Ismail Samatar, “Puntland and the Crisis of Somali Federalism,” Bildhaan 1 (2001): 54–67.
5. Ismail H. Warsame, “Statehood, Ports, and Political Legitimacy in Puntland,” Warsame Digital Media (WDM), n.d., https://ismailwarsame.wordpress.com/.
6. Markus Hoehne, “Political Identity, Emerging State Structures and Conflict in Northern Somalia,” Journal of Modern African Studies 44, no. 3 (2006): 397–414.
7. Warsame Digital Media (WDM), “Puntland’s Founding Moment and the 2000–2001 Internal Confrontation,” editorial series, n.d.
8. Alex de Waal, “The Politics of Destabilisation in the Horn of Africa,” Global Dialogue 5, no. 1–2 (2003): 1–12.
9. Ismail H. Warsame, “Puntland at the Crossroads: Founding Ideals and Political Fragmentation,” Warsame Digital Media (WDM), n.d.
Warsame Policy & Media Network (WAPMEN) 
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