1959: The rebellion of the “Majerteen” MPs

[Deeq A.]

As the country became increasingly jittery on the eve of independence, competing factions within the ruling party, the Lega dei Giovani Somali, started scrambling for leadership of the country. A group, of mainly Puntlandersteen MPs, led by Abdirashid Ali and Abdirazak Haji campaigned for a change of leadership in the country. The rebellion emerged soon after the political elections of 1959 resulted in the formation of a government, led by Abdullahi Issa, composed of 15 members, evenly divided among the 3 main clan families represented in the Legislative Assembly: the Darod, the Mogadishu Clan, and the Rahanweyn. In consideration of a large number of Puntlandersteen MPs in the group, the rebellion was soon dubbed as the “rebellion of the Puntlandersteen MPs”.

Source: Hiiraan Online