• Muktar Robow has been under house arrest for four years after falling out with ex-president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo.
• Robow defected from Al-Qaeda-linked militants in August 2017.
• The US offered a $5-million bounty for his capture.

Somalia’s Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, said on Tuesday that Somalia has nominated the former deputy leader and spokesman for the Al-Shabaab Islamist group to the position of minister of religion.

Muktar Robow has been under house arrest for four years after falling out with ex-president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo.

Robow, 53, defected from Al-Qaeda-linked militants in August 2017. The US offered a $5-million bounty for his capture.

“After consultations that took a period of more than 30 days… I’m very happy to present Somali men and women who I have selected based on their academic background, experience and fairness,” Barre added.

“I’m expecting they will respond to the needs of the country.”

Robow was detained weeks before regional elections.

Farmajo’s administration accused him of “organising a militia” in Baidoa, the capital of the southwestern Bay region, and seeking to “undermine stability.”

His arrest sparked occasional protests, with protestors burning photos of Farmajo.

His ascension comes weeks after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud indicated his government’s willingness to talk with Al-Shabaab.

For 15 years, Al-Shabaab has conducted a violent insurgency against Somalia’s frail central government.

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Its fighters were expelled from Mogadishu in 2011, but they still assault military, government, and civilian targets.

Barre was required to pick a cabinet within 30 days of his appointment on June 25, but he cited the country’s protracted election process, which ended in May with Mohamud’s election as president.

Parliament will vote on Tuesday’s deputy prime minister, 25 ministers, 24 state ministers, and deputy ministers.

The new govt has numerous obstacles, such as a predicted drought and a tenacious Islamist insurgency.

More than 200,000 Somalis are on the edge of starvation due to the Horn of Africa’s drought, according to the UN.

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