How a Conman Hijacked Somaliland’s Foreign Affairs in the Scandinavian Countries.
Meet Mikael Thorstensson
Mikael Thorstensson is a Swedish citizen and a businessman, he is from the small Vrigstad town in southern Sweden with a population of less than 2000. While there is a lot of information about him and Somaliland, we are going to dig a little deeper than usual. Hold on to your hat!
According to public records Mr Thorstensson is the owner of two businesses registered in Sweden, Swedinvest Scandinavia (registration Org.nummer: 556884-9235) and Copy Vision AB (Registration Org.nummer: 556656-5528). Mr Thorstensson and his wife Elisabeth Torstensson also run a nonprofit school for the disabled children in Somaliland called School Of Dreams.
A Web of Business and Humanitarian Activities
While Copy Vision AB does not any have dealings in Somaliland (more on that later), Swedinvest Scandinavia, Mr. Thorstensson’s marketing material state that it is setup to bring investment to the Horn of Africa and particularly Somaliland. The launch of Swedinvest Scandinavia in 2015 was a high profile event that was attended by Somaliland’s Vice President Abdirahman Saylici.
Aside from a many promotional materials, the only thing we could find was a photo of a truck with the Somaliland and Swedish flags as well as the Swedinvest Scandinavia crest. The purpose of the vehicle is unclear but it appears to be an old decommissioned military vehicle with a white paint.
Mr. Thorstensson’s activities are all tightly intertwined, for instance Swedinvest Scandinavia is listed as a partner of the Charity School of Dreams for the disabled children he runs with his wife Elisabeth in Borama, though the nature of the partnership is not clear. Additionally, the website for the school is hosted by Copy Vision AB. This is a name you will see many times through out the story.
In fact, all the partner entities listed on the School of Dreams website are owned by Mr Thorstensson’s Copy Vision AB.
The School of Dreams‘s website solicits direct donations from the public via e-Dahab, Zaad and Swish, a Swedish mobile money transfer service. Close inspection of the swish account listed for donation reveals that it is linked to is a personal account owned by Mr Thorstensson at Swedbank och Sparbankerna.
Beyond the slick website and pictures in classrooms and on one occasion, Mr Thorstensson’s children pose in pictures with disabled children, we are unable to verify the schools’s operations, how many kids are enrolled or the type of services provided to disabled children.
Drawning in Red Ink
While Mr Thorstensson has cultivated an image of a successful international businessman, his finances tell an entirely different story of loss, unpaid rent and eventual eviction from his Hargeisa residence. According to tax records filed by Mr. Thorstensson for Swedinvest Scandinavia and Copy Vision AB have consistently lost money.
No doubt a busy entrepreneur and a humanitarian but that is not all. He also holds a portfolio as Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU.
Meet Mikael Thorstensson, Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU
Mr Thorstensson has a rather an unusual relationship with Somaliland, and some might even call him the ultimate insider with powerful friends in high places, this is an image has has worked very hard to cultivate as shown on his facebook and other public sources. Including this bizarre interview, where he is answering questions that are seemingly not asked by the reporter.
Even though Mr Thorstensson calls himself Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU, it is very important to note that during the appointment, Somaliland’s Foreign Affairs Minister HE Saad Ali Shire, has made it clear that Mr Thorstensson was not an Ambassador for Somaliland but rather an honorary envoy. It is unclear what this means as we were unable to find official government records to understand the parameters of the appointment.
Mr Thorstensson has frequently touted his connection to the Swedish Government, the only link we are able to find is between him and a parliament member from his small town of less than 2000 people, Mr Magnus Oscarsson who appears frequently with Mr Thorstensson and even visited Somaliland with him on few occasions.
In article that appeared on Vision Hoglandet which is owned by Mr Thorstensson and is one of the partner entities listed for School Of Dreams. Mr Oscarsson interviewed and is photographed with a group of six children who do not seem disabled in a sparsely furnished classroom.
We have reached out to members of the Somaliland Diaspora Recognition Committee in Sweden to ask them about their impression of Mr Thorstensson and Oscarsson and while none of them would speak on the record they were unanimous in how much power they saw Mr Thorstensson wielded within the government Somaliland even though he was merely an honorary envoy. For Mr Oscarsson, one described him as “simply a bored guy who would’nt mind a paid trip to an exotic location”.
“When the guy who seemingly has no clear role or qualification to represent Somaliland at any capacity let alone the European Union is meeting the President and dining with the Vice President of Somaliland you generally do not stand in his way even though he is clearly in it to promote his own interest but if he mentions Somaliland every now and again, we are good with it” is how a member of the SKS group described Mr Thorstensson.
How Close is Sweden to Recognize Somaliland?
In a slickly produced video Mr Thorstensson announced that for first time in history “Today we had an historic day here in Stockholm, we established Parliament Organization for Somaliland in Swedish Parliament”.
There is only one issue with this extraordinary claim, there is no official Parliament organisation or a committee for Somaliland in the Swedish parliament. By all accounts this is a private organization with no association to the Swedish government that just happens to have three Swedish MP Björn Rubenson, Daniel Bäckström and once again Magnus Oscarsson.
While it is significant to have three members of any developed world’s parliament in an organization designed to promote and lobby for Somaliland in their parliament, of the three MPs only Mr Oscarsson has submitted a question to the Swedish Foreign Ministry asking if they intended to initiate the Swedish Government’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state. The answer was unfortunately a simple No.
Again, while Mr Thorstensson is not an official envoy of the Republic of Somaliland but rather an honorary, he has generously helped himself with emblems of the Republic of Somaliland and runs few Facebook pages one of them is Celebrate Somaliland which uses the logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs complete with promotional material and blurbs about him in the media, some of which are once again, Mr Thorstensson’s own Vision Hoglandet magazine.
Bolder Lies
Perhaps the most blatant example of Mr Thorstensson misrepresenting himself as an official Ambassador for Somaliland is yet another website, a rather slick site called somalilandabroad.se that purports to be Somaliland’s Diplomatic Mission to Swedan, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Once again, designed and hosted by Copy Vision AB one of many businesses owned and operated by Mr Thorstensson.
It gets better, there is a section somalilandabroad.se about investment in Somaliland and it refers to a rather interesting entity known as European – Somaliland Chamber of Commerce with a rather striking logo but we are unable to locate the website listed and any other information regarding this entity. It is safe to assume is another one of Mr Thorstensson many tentacles.
Clearly, Mr Thorstensson is a conman using Somaliland’s desperation for recognition to use it’s name in a way that was not authorized to him and concocting embassies of his own out of thin air. What is worrying is that he might be taking funds from investors while pretending to represent Somaliland. Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has in many aspects been an absentee landlord and the vacuum it created is where conman like Mr Thorstensson make their living.
Efforts to reach Messrs Thorstensson and Magnus Oscarsson have not been successful.
International Donors Rebuff Somalia’s Attempt to Control Aid to Somaliland
It has been widely reported yesterday that Somalia has written to the international donors that it will not be renewing the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement that has been in place since 2013.
In the letter, the Somali Minister of Planning stated that treating Somaliland differently is not fair to other states of Somalia and that all aid should flow through the Somali Federal Government. In his letter, he did not mention that Somaliland has withdrawn from the union with Somalia in 1991 and has been an independent country for 27 years.
A response letter from the heads of Somalia Donor Group was not addressed to the Minister of Planning, instead to the Somali Deputy Prime Minister, and while diplomatically crafted it made it clear to the Somalia government that the circumstances that made it necessary to have this agreement in the first place still apply.
This is a clear indication that the SSA agreement is something that was put together by the international community to ensure Somaliland gets it is fair share of aid directly and not through Somalia.
In a rebuttal to the main point of the Somali Minister letter, stated that there are stark differences between Somaliland and Puntland and none of the other Somalia states existed at the time the agreement was reached. Additionally, this agreement is necessary to keep up with Somaliland’s breakneck development pace or as the letter put it development needs.
Constructive and Sincere Spirit
Finally, the response letter asks that Somali’s Federal Government to avoid politicizing aid activities and to reconsider the proposal in a “constructive and sincere spirit” and to come back with a no objection guarantee.
The response from the international donors has been public for few hours and has been widely discussed among regional observers, some view it as a strong rebuke to Somalia’s letter and a not so gentle reminder that the Somalia Donor Group will deal with Somalia with or without the cooperation of Somalia’s Federal Government.
Somaliland President Muse Bihi Invited to Addis Ababa?
There are unconfirmed reports from Addis Ababa that the President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi has received an invitation from the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed and will be headed to Addis Ababa in the coming days.
Attempts to confirm these reports from the Somaliland Government has been fruitless as President Bihi’s administration is tight-lipped compared to previous administrations. However, the likelihood of this happening is very high as Prime Minister Abiy has so far visited every country in East Africa and few beyond except Somaliland.
Somaliland, Ethiopia and DP World signed a trilateral agreement to develop the Berbera port where Ethiopia holds a 19% stake and. This agreement has been made directly with Somaliland and could be a major topic of discussion.
Somalia Attempts to Choke Off Aid Funding from Somaliland
In a letter send to the international community and aid agencies, Somalia’s Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development has stated that the Somali Federal Government is rejecting the proposal to renew the Special Arrangement for Somaliland.
The Special Arragement for Somaliland was part of the Somalia Compact rectified in Brussels in 2013. 
The Somali Minister’s stated justification for declining to renew the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement is that it will seem that Somaliland is being favored by the international community and donors over other states of Somalia and that all aid funding should flow through Villa Somalia. Failing to mention that Somaliland, despite its lack of recognition has declared itself an independent country 27 years ago.
Earlier this month, in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Senator Paul who is a fiscal conservative and a proponent of curbing US debt and spending said “There’s 920 instances of child soldiers, forcing children to fight. There’s evidence that some of these soldiers are parts of al-Qaida. There’s also evidence that some of these soldiers are nothing more than highway robbers”. and called for an end to end to US taxpayer money for Somali National Army.
Somalia’s Federal Government, while unable to control major parts of its capital Mogadishu and curb violence by Al-Shabaab and other Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups in Somalia, has tried to assert control over Somaliland on paper and complaints to the Security Council.
It’s unclear if this letter or Somalia’s withdrawal from the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement will have an impact on Somaliland’s ability to secure funding from donor countries. What is very clear is that Somaliland has been less reliant on aid and more on investment and tax collection to deliver critical services to its population.
Somaliland has shown a remarkable ability to work directly with neighboring countries including the United Arab Emirates which sent a contingent of its military to help distribute relief to those affected cyclone Sagar.
Could this be about Tukeraq?
Somaliland has accused Somalia’s Federal Government as being behind Puntland’s claim over large swaths of its territory and particularly the Minister of Planning who illegally crossed into Somaliland in January a head of the Tukaraq conflict to supply arms to Puntland militias.
Direct Engagement with Somaliland
Some observers point to the Tukaraq conflict and Somalia’s inability to gain ground in battle and thus resorting to its favorite method of trying to stifle Somaliland’s progress in any way possible.
There has been an increasing number of western politicians who has called for direct engagement with Somaliland, one of them is Zac Goldsmith a senior member of the UK Conservative Party who has called on UK Minister for Africa, Harriet Baldwin, to reconsider a policy and give British aid directly to Somaliland.
Others who are familiar with the international community’s frustration with Somalia because of massive corruption and lack of basic oversight of their taxpayer’s funds to Somalia, have welcomed the move and stated that they have always preferred to engage directly with Somaliland where robust governance has been in place for over two decades.
“He Came, Conquered and Humiliated Farmajo” Inside PM Abiy’s Visit to Mogadishu
The Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed paid an unexpected visit to Mogadishu on Saturday June 16th to meet the Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The newly elected Prime Minister has been on a whirlwind of visits to meet with Ethiopia’s regional traditional rivals and other African leaders but his visit to Mogadishu has been the most discussed and auspicious yet.
Dr Ahmed’s visit to Mogadishu follows another meeting a day earlier in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan signed 3 billion US dollars loan and investment agreements, including a one billion foreign currency support. According to the signed agreement with Ethiopia, UAE will make an immediate transfer of 1 billion US dollars to the National Bank of Ethiopia to alleviate the foreign currency shortage in Ethiopia.
Dr Abiy’s visit to Mogadishu differed from all meetings he has had so far with any leader, in that he swapped his sharp tailored suit for a casual khaki and according to eye witnesses and photos of his visit to Mogadishu and also brought with him a massive force of Ethiopian Special Forces for security escort. Somali security personnel where no where to be seen.
A video of the streets of Mogadishu shows Ethiopian forces with AMISOM guarding many parts of Mogadishu while the Prime Minister was visiting.
“Don’t let his charming smile fool you or the Doctorate for that matter, Abiy has fought against Mengistu Haile Mariam as a teenager and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel as an intelligence officer, he knows what he is doing and saw action in many conflict theaters in Africa, this is not his first rodeo the Prime Minister was a peace keeper in Rwanda during the genocide!
In a joint Communiqué issued by the Prime Minister and the President of Federal Government of Somalia Mr. Farmajo, Mr. Abiy has won massive concessions that did not show any reciprocity on the part of Ethiopia.
Article #7 is the most significant of the Communiqué points to a joint Ethiopian – Somali investment in four unspecified ports in Somalia and land transportation network. Ethiopia is land locked and has no ports of its own to contribute to this bilateral agreement with Somalia.
The timing and the optics of the meeting raised many questions, a day after meeting with the the Crown Prince of Abu Dhab and a massive infusion of 3 billion dollars with 33% or 1 billion to be immediately transferred to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Prime Minister visits Mogadishu.
To many observers, this was a rather unexpected turn of events that Somalia would concede four ports to Ethiopia while the trilateral deal of Somaliland, DP World and Ethiopia added to the political instability of Somalia that led to the ouster of the former Speaker of the Parliament as well as the numerous grievances that Somalia filed in the UN Security Council against this deal.
Prime Ministry Abiy stated that he wants to build an Ethiopian Navy though at the time it was not clear where it would be based on despite that his country is landlocked.
Somalia Amb to the U.N. @AbukarOsman1 tells Security Council that the military base UAE is building in Berbera is “in clear violation of international law”, calls on UNSC Security Council to “take the necessary steps”. pic.twitter.com/vxV6NUFwBr
— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) March 27, 2018
There is no evidence that Mr Farmajo has brought up the Prime Minister’s ambition to build and base a navy in one or all of the four Somali ports he won in this concession.
Others point to the very nature of the meeting between Dr Ahmed and Mr Farmajo where it seemed the Ethiopian Prime Minister has gone to great lengths to show that the Somali leader was not his equal. Social media has been a blaze from the Prime Minister’s safari attire to the photo of him hugging Mr Farmajo to assert dominance and his justified distrust of all Somali security personnel and instead bringing a large contingent of Ethiopian Special Forces to guarantee his safety.
A western diplomat who did not wish to be named said “Don’t let his charming smile fool you or the Doctorate for that matter, Abiy has fought against Mengistu Haile Mariam as a teenager and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel as an intelligence officer, he knows what he is doing and saw action in many conflict theaters in Africa, this is not his first rodeo the Prime Minister was a peace keeper in Rwanda during the genocide!” of the Ethiopian Prime Minister.
Despite the minutia and the level of detail the media and the public has analysed the meeting and the resulting Communiqué, another important but overlooked article is #12
Though article #12 of the Communiqué is lacking in detail, many who were privy to the discussion stated that the Prime Minister was has strongly suggested that Somalia officially renounce any territorial claim of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and declare the Ogaden National Liberation Front a terrorist group. While some media outlets interpreted this article as a sign that Ethiopia no longer supports an independent Somaliland.
A Villa Somalia protocol official who feared for his safety described the meeting in lopsided and Mr Farmajo in a demure and submissive state he has never seen, saying “Abiy came, he conquered and humiliated Farmajo and if I see my name in the paper, I will be shot dead and they will say it was Al-Shabaab. This was the saddest thing I have witnessed in my 40 years of service to my country”. Adding “They even disarmed Farmajo’s own security and inspected the Somali honor guard’s weapons to ensure there was no ammo”.
When reached for comment, on condition of anonymity, a high ranking official in HE President Muse Bihi government said “We have enjoyed watching Somalia flail and file complaints about the Berbera DP World to anyone who would listen, now they conceded four ports to Ethiopia in one meeting, obviously, we congratulate Prime Minister Abiy for his impressive negotiating skills but this is not our business, this is a bilateral agreement between Somalia and Ethiopia. Unlike Somalia, we respect other countries decisions and self determination and we don’t try to control things beyond our sphere of influence.”
Hargeysa Mayor Pledges Land for Somaliland Military and their Families.
On the Occassion of Eid Al-Fitr, Mayor of Somaliland’s capital of Hargeisa Abdirahman Aideed “soltelco” issued a statement on his official Facebook page that the Hargeysa Municipality has allocated land for current members of Somaliland’s Armed Forces as well as the survivors of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense for their country.
The Mayor’s statement wished happy Eid Mubarak to all Muslims and Somaliland public and especially members of the Military.
The statement also appealed to mayor of Somaliland’s other major cities to make similar pledge and allocate land for our Armed Forces.
Mayor SOLTELCO’s statement is short on specifics and it is unclear if member’s of the military and survivors of those killed in action will be given the land free of charge by the Municipality or if they will purchase it at a discounted rate. Either scenario is a welcome news as land prices in Somaliland are very expensive. The Somaliland Chronicle is trying to reach the Mayor for further clarification.
