Mogadishu (WDN) – In the grand tradition of Somalia’s government neglecting its own, General Sheegow Ahmed Ali, a man once at the heart of the country’s security apparatus, now finds himself abandoned, battling liver cancer with no medical support. According to HirShabelle’s Deputy Minister of Information, Abdishakur Shasha, the federal government has shown zero interest in ensuring the ailing general gets the care he desperately needs.

Gen. Sheegow was arrested on August, 2023, after being accused by the police of orchestrating a militia involved in robberies in Mogadishu. Following his arrest, some members of Parliament from his constituency introduced a motion in September 2023, for his case but didn’t materialize.

Speaking to SYL Somali TV in a rather blunt interview, Minister Shasha didn’t mince words. “The government is too busy organizing protests and counter-protests. They haven’t spared even a single moment to address Sheegow’s condition” he said. His frustration evident.

Apparently, Sheegow was first diagnosed with hepatitis. But, in what seems to be a textbook case of “ignore it and hope it goes away,” his condition deteriorated into full-blown cancer. “He is a prisoner of the government, but he still has the right to receive medical treatment” Shasha reminded, as if such rights hadn’t already been conveniently forgotten.

The minister went further, suggesting that the government’s inaction was intentional. If the government continues to ignore his condition, we see it as deliberate. We demand they cover his medical expenses and grant him amnesty—because, what’s the point of keeping a dying man locked up? WardheerNews has learned that a few weeks ago, General Sheegow was briefly taken to a Mogadishu hospital. But after what we assume was a quick check-up and perhaps a good luck pat on the back, he was promptly sent back to prison.

If General Sheegow dies like this, we will hold the government accountable, Shasha declared ominously. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, someone will have to answer for this. And so, the question lingers: Is General Sheegow just another forgotten name in Somalia’s long history of abandoned figures, or is this a calculated move to erase a man who once mattered?

WardheerNews