By any measure, the return of Mahad Salad to Somalia’s political frontline is not a routine reshuffle—it’s a signal. A message from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, one loud enough to rattle the remaining opposition voices in Mogadishu. Salad isn’t just a party loyalist or a recycled face from Somalia’s deep pool of political insiders. He is a fixer, a loyal enforcer, and most importantly, a man trusted to do what others could not.

In a country where politics is personal, and alliances are always under strain, Mahad Salad’s reappointment marks a hard turn in Hassan Sheikh’s second term. The president doesn’t want dialogue. He wants discipline. And Salad is the man to impose it.

The Sanbaloolshe Failure

To understand why Salad is back, you have to look at who came before him—and why he failed. Abdullahi Mohamed Ali "Sanbaloolshe," the former NISA director, was supposed to toe the line. He had the credentials: a seasoned political hand with enough intelligence connections to monitor and pressure the growing opposition.

But he didn’t deliver.

Whether out of hesitation, incompetence, or calculation, Sanbaloolshe didn’t push hard enough. He didn’t clamp down on dissent. He didn’t neutralize political threats inside Mogadishu or in the larger Hawiye bloc, which makes up the bulk of the opposition. For Hassan Sheikh, this was unacceptable.

Sanbaloolshe thought like a bureaucrat. Mahad Salad thinks like a combatant.

Who Is Mahad Salad?

Mahad Salad is not subtle. He’s not trying to play a neutral role. He’s an operator with a reputation for loyalty above all else—to the president, not the nation. During his previous time as the head of Somalia’s intelligence agency, NISA, he ran the place like a fortress, treating opposition leaders, journalists, and even fellow ministers as suspects. Under his command, the agency wasn’t just collecting intelligence—it was picking sides, issuing threats, and, if reports are to be believed, orchestrating detentions and intimidation campaigns.

He knows how to shut things down.

And that’s exactly what Hassan Sheikh wants right now.

The Real Mission: Crush the Opposition

The president has grown increasingly aggressive in recent months. The initial hope, when he came back to office in 2022, was that his second term might be different—more stable, more open. But things fell apart quickly. Opposition groups, especially those based in the Hawiye-majority central regions, began organizing, challenging his authority, and threatening the fragile order he’d been trying to hold together.

Instead of building bridges, Hassan Sheikh chose to tear them down.

Bringing back Salad isn’t about national security. It’s about political survival. He’s not being asked to protect Somalia from al-Shabaab or external enemies. He’s being asked to protect Hassan Sheikh from his own tribe.

That’s the irony. Most of the president’s challengers aren’t outsiders. They’re insiders—men from the same clan family, the Hawiye. That makes this a civil war within a civil war. And it’s personal. These aren't just political opponents—they're rivals who know his history, his weaknesses, and his blind spots. He’s not just silencing critics—he’s hunting threats to his legacy.

Erasing Opposition, Not Winning Debate

Under Mahad Salad’s watch, we can expect politics to become more dangerous. Protests won’t just be ignored—they’ll be criminalized. Opposition figures won’t just be pushed aside—they’ll be prosecuted, surveilled, and possibly imprisoned. Journalists will be treated as tools of the enemy. Dialogue will vanish. What’s left is a winner-takes-all struggle for control of Mogadishu and the state apparatus.

You don’t bring in someone like Mahad Salad unless you’ve already made a choice: this isn’t a political game anymore—it’s war.

Why Hawiye Matters?

This internal war is also exposing deep fractures in Somalia’s clan-based power structure. Hassan Sheikh is a member of the Hawiye, but his most vocal opponents are also Hawiye—particularly from the Abgaal, Habar Gidir, and Murusade branches. This isn’t just bad optics; it’s risky. The president is accusing his own base of being enemies of the state.

The Hawiye aren’t a monolith, but their historical role in shaping Mogadishu and central Somalia is undeniable. Alienating them, or worse, declaring political war on them, risks destabilizing more than just the capital. It risks fragmenting the already fragile consensus that holds Somalia’s federal government together.

By appointing Mahad Salad, Hassan Sheikh is essentially saying: "I will rule—even if I rule alone."

The Broader Power Play

There’s another layer here. Hassan Sheikh wants to stay in power beyond his current term. Every move he’s making—the appointments, the pressure on Parliament, the control of federal institutions—points to that goal. But to do that, he has to rewrite the political map. And to do that, he has to break the backs of his rivals. That’s what Mahad Salad is for.

This isn’t about political ideology. Somalia’s politics rarely are. It’s about control. And right now, the president feels cornered. He’s not looking for reform. He’s preparing for consolidation.

Expect stricter media laws. Expect targeted arrests. Expect new intelligence campaigns focused on Hawiye strongholds. And expect political dialogue to be replaced by silence—and fear.

What Happens Next?

Somalia is already walking a tightrope. Federal states like Jubbaland and Puntland are watching carefully. If Hassan Sheikh continues to weaponize state institutions for his own political gain, he could push these regions further away from Mogadishu. And if he loses support from the Hawiye base, he won’t just lose legitimacy—he might lose the capital itself.

Mahad Salad’s return is a gamble. It could give the president temporary breathing room. It could also spark a serious backlash. Hawiye elders, opposition coalitions, and even disillusioned allies could begin to organize more aggressively, seeing no future in a system that silences their voices.

One thing is certain: this isn’t about reconciliation. It’s about domination.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made his choice. He wants time—more of it. And he’s willing to pay the price. Even if that means turning on his own.

Somalia is bleeding, not from war alone, but from inside. Corruption, nepotism, looting, and betrayal have taken root deep within Villa Somalia. The man at the centre of it all is President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. After promising reform and national unity, he’s delivered the opposite: state collapse, theft of public assets, clan domination, and institutional decay.

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Worse, the so-called "rescuers" now presenting themselves as an alternative to Hassan Sheikh are the same political operators who helped bring him to power. Their record is no cleaner. They are not a solution. They are the problem.

What Somalia needs is clear: a return to tested, competent, national leadership. That means bringing back Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo—a leader whose record, though not perfect, showed real governance, state-building, and reform in action.

Hassan Sheikh’s Return: A Disaster Repeated

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud first served as president between 2012 and 2016. His presidency was riddled with accusations of corruption, weak leadership, and clan-driven governance. Yet, in May 2022, he returned to power. The second term has proven worse than the first.

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1. State Capture by Clan

Since taking office, Hassan Sheikh has appointed loyalists from his own sub-clan into key government roles—ministries, security posts, diplomatic missions, public agencies. The effect has been devastating. Civil servants now work for clans, not citizens. Public trust in government appointments has collapsed.

No national cohesion can exist under a presidency that treats public office as clan inheritance. Hassan Sheikh has turned Villa Somalia into a clan council.

2. Collapse of Anti-Corruption Efforts

In October 2022, Hassan Sheikh dissolved all anti-corruption commissions via presidential decree. Somalia now has no government body tasked with investigating theft of public funds.

This wasn’t a reform. It was a green light. Corruption became institutionalised. Reports of embezzlement, bribery, and land theft have multiplied—unchecked, unpunished, unreported in state media.

The message is clear: under Hassan Sheikh, accountability is dead.

3. The Looting of Public Land

Under this administration, large swathes of government-owned land, including military barracks, have been quietly sold off to private businessmen. Most buyers have close ties to Hassan Sheikh, either through clan, campaign donations, or personal friendship.

There were no public tenders. No parliamentary oversight. No revenue transparency. This is asset-stripping at a national level.

4. Security Worsens

Under Farmaajo, Somalia made real gains against Al-Shabaab. Under Hassan Sheikh, those gains are reversing. Politicisation of intelligence, leadership disputes in the army, and weakened morale have opened space for militant resurgence.

Hassan’s administration prioritises clan loyalty over command structure. As a result, our soldiers are divided, poorly paid, and unprotected from political games.

5. Foreign Relations in Decline

Diplomatic mismanagement has harmed Somalia’s international standing. Promises to fast-track national elections, judicial reform, and federal-state cooperation have failed.

Donors are pulling back. International financial institutions are hesitant. The airspace, once proudly reclaimed, has returned to administrative confusion.

6. No Vision, No Direction

This Hassans’s presidency is not built on any policy roadmap. It is driven by immediate survival, political deals, and patronage networks. The result is chaos masked by PR campaigns.

The “Rescuers” Are Just Another Lie

Some opposition politicians have now regrouped, branding themselves as the “Rescue Front”—a political movement claiming to save Somalia from Hassan Sheikh’s failure.

But these are the same individuals who:

• Elected Hassan Sheikh in 2022, rallying their MPs to vote him in.

• Attacked Farmaajo's administration using clan mobilisation and foreign pressure.

• Blocked institutional reforms, especially in the judiciary and security sectors.

• Served in corrupt cabinets, stole donor money, and undermined sovereign decisions.

They are not new. They are not clean. They are not here to rescue anything. They are seasoned political opportunists betting that the public has a short memory.

If Hassan is the driver of the collapse, they are the mechanics who built the car.

Farmaajo: The Only Leader with a Record That Delivers

Against this backdrop, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo stands out not because he is perfect—but because he governed, and delivered, during one of Somalia’s most difficult periods.

Between 2017 and 2022, Farmaajo’s presidency marked the closest Somalia came to a functioning state in decades.

1. Debt Cancellation and Economic Reform

• Secured over $2 billion in debt relief through the HIPC process.

• Passed transparency laws, audited ministries, and controlled foreign aid misuse.

• Introduced a Unified National Monetary System for the first time in 30 years.

Farmaajo laid the foundation for true economic sovereignty.

2. Reclaiming National Sovereignty

• Regained full control of Somalia’s airspace after nearly 30 years under ICAO.

• Won the ICJ maritime case against Kenya, defending national waters.

• Removed foreign domination from key sectors—returning decisions to Somali hands.

3. Serious Anti-Corruption Measures

• Set up the first independent anti-corruption commission.

• Used biometric systems to eliminate ghost soldiers and fake civil servants.

• Implemented a single treasury account—all state funds into one transparent pool.

No leader since the civil war had come this close to cleaning up public finance.

4. Security Sector Reform

• Professionalised the Somali National Army with biometric ID, salary systems, and new training partnerships.

• Sent elite forces for training in Turkey and Eritrea.

• Pushed for Somali-led operations, reducing dependency on AMISOM.

By 2021, Somalia had a growing national army—not militias in uniform.

5. Symbolic and Practical Achievements

• Rebuilt national monuments and historical sites through the Isxilqaan campaign.

• Established full foreign relations with multiple new countries.

• Got Somalia a seat at the UN with full representation in New York.

The comparison is clear. One president looted and divided. The other built and unified.

Somalia Needs a Leader—Not a Dealer

Hassan Sheikh is not a president. He is a political trader. Every decision he makes benefits a network, not a nation. His second term has confirmed what many feared in 2016: this man never belonged in Villa Somalia.

The so-called “rescuers” are not better. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing—familiar faces with rebranded names and no new ideas.

Farmaajo is not perfect. He made political mistakes. He trusted some wrong actors. But he never stole. He never sold land. He never gave speeches while looting budgets. He worked. He built. He showed you what a Somali president should be.

The Call to Action

Somalis must stop rewarding failure. Stop normalising theft. Stop confusing PR campaigns with leadership.

You’ve tested Hassan Sheikh—twice. The result: collapse.

You’ve tested the "rescuers." The result: betrayal.

You’ve tested Farmaajo. He gave you results. He gave you reforms. He gave you sovereignty.

In the next election, the choice is not between candidates. It’s between collapse and recovery. Between chaos and reform.

Stand with Farmaajo. He is the only leader who treated Somalia like a country—not a clan shop.

Vote for competence. Vote for dignity. Vote for the only man who put Somalia first—when everyone else was selling it.

In a country rich in untapped oil reserves and desperate for development, the Somali Petroleum Authority (SPA) is quietly operating without public oversight. Its chairman, Eng. Abdulqadir Aden Mohamud, stands at the center of a growing storm. Insiders claim he is running Somalia’s oil sector like a private enterprise, ignoring institutional checks and undermining national interest in favour of short-term payoffs.

According to sources close to the government, SPA is not collecting official government revenues tied to oil exploration. Instead, private cash payments — off the books — are flowing into unknown hands. The work programs of active companies are kept secret. Even government ministries have not seen them. Confidential documents like Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), and national oil data are all controlled by SPA leadership alone.

No one outside the SPA knows what the real deals look like. No transparency. No public record. No parliamentary review.

“They’re treating Somalia’s resources like personal property,” said a senior official familiar with the situation. “They’ve locked everyone out — including us.”

Coastline Energy Split, Shadow Deals in Play

Coastline Energy, the once-prominent UK-based oil explorer in Somalia, has reportedly been split into two entities. The details of this split remain vague, and the company now holds only five offshore blocks. The move, insiders say, was less about strategic development and more about backroom ownership.

One of the suspected beneficiaries of this opaque restructuring is former petroleum minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed. Several sources allege he holds undeclared shares in a company operating under the name Soma Oil and Gas — a name that once attracted international scrutiny for its business dealings in Somalia.

Abdirizak is also believed to have ties to Coastline’s split. “He helped break them up,” said a former oil sector consultant. “He’s still in the picture, just behind the curtain.”

These under-the-table ownership arrangements cast serious doubt over the integrity of the SPA’s oversight. Despite Somalia’s fragile institutional environment, the stakes are high: billions of dollars of potential oil revenue and national sovereignty.

SPA Chairman’s Tight Grip

Eng. Abdulqadir Aden Mohamud, the SPA chairman, operates in near-total secrecy. Multiple sources inside and outside government allege that he refuses to share documentation with other institutions, including the Ministry of Petroleum and even Villa Somalia itself unless pressed.

“All the legal documents, seismic data, even the names of companies in negotiations — they’re all held by him,” one official said. “He never shares anything unless it suits him.”

The fear among his critics is not just mismanagement. It’s total capture. The SPA is no longer acting as a public regulator, but as a gatekeeper for private interests.

Who Protects the Chairman?

Liban Shuluq, a security official with expired credentials, remains in his post. Sources say he is Abdulqadir’s right hand — both protector and enforcer. He is believed to be managing the illegal flow of cash between oil firms, the SPA, and Villa Somalia.

“Liban is the banker and the bodyguard,” one source said. “He divides the money, keeps the pressure on, and makes sure no one talks too much.”

The arrangement is toxic: a security official with no legal authority supporting a regulator that behaves more like a private broker.

Their network doesn’t tolerate dissent. Whistleblowers and independent voices — even within the government — are frozen out.

“They’re afraid of anyone who can expose them.” said one former official.

Somalia’s National Interest? Buried in Deals

The official list of companies with PSAs in Somalia includes Liberty Petroleum, Coastline Energy, and Turkish Petroleum Corporation. Meanwhile, countries like Libya, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Djibouti have signed MOUs. Yet none of these agreements are available to the public or Somali lawmakers.

The secrecy is deliberate. Officials claim that the contracts are designed to favour foreign investors and politically connected individuals — not the Somali people.

“They know the terms are weak,” said a government adviser. “That’s why they hide them.”

Some of the side benefits from these MOUs include foreign scholarships. But instead of being open to the public, these education deals go straight to families linked to Villa Somalia — the president’s compound. It’s personal gain, not public benefit.

Foreign Governments Are Noticing

Turkiye, one of Somalia’s most important allies, has started to pull back. Some funding is now on hold, reportedly because Turkish officials believe President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is unlikely to win re-election. The political risk is too high.

“Even the Turks have had enough,” said a former diplomat. “They see what’s happening.”

In the meantime, SPA continues to manage Somalia’s oil sector like a backdoor business. The SPA chairman has become the main point of contact for companies and governments looking to “fast-track” agreements with Villa Somalia.

“Quick cash, quiet deals,” one insider said. “That’s the model now.”

A Stolen Sector

Somalia’s constitution grants ownership of natural resources to the Somali people, with management supposed to be shared between the federal government and regional states. But that system has collapsed. The SPA now operates independently, accountable to no one.

The longer this continues, the more difficult it will be to recover. Contracts signed in secrecy could be legally binding for decades. Foreign firms may extract oil from Somali waters while contributing nothing meaningful to the country’s development.

The tragedy isn’t just lost revenue — it’s the theft of future potential.

The Missing Oversight

Parliament has been largely silent. Most lawmakers are either unaware of the depth of the problem or afraid to speak out. Civil society groups, which played a vital role in previous transparency efforts, have been shut out or intimidated.

There’s no public oil registry. No public audit. No formal publication of agreements. No press conferences from the SPA. Even the Ministry of Petroleum has little knowledge of what the SPA is doing behind closed doors.

“They’ve taken the entire sector hostage,” said one analyst. “It’s become a tool for power and enrichment.”

What Comes Next?

With elections approaching and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud facing growing political resistance, the future of the SPA and Somalia’s oil sector remains uncertain. But insiders warn that damage is already done. Even if a new administration takes power, it may take years to untangle the web of secret deals.

Calls for reform — stronger institutions, legal oversight, and transparency — have so far gone unanswered. Meanwhile, the players in this secretive game continue to profit.

Until Somalia’s oil sector is wrestled out of private hands and returned to public ownership, the country will remain trapped — rich in resources, but robbed of their benefit.

Stay connected — the scandal runs deep. In Part 2, we’ll break down how these secret oil deals were signed, who was behind them, and what was exchanged behind closed doors…

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