By Abdullahi A. Nor

On a quiet Mogadishu night, as the city’s residents drifted into uneasy sleep, something sinister unfolded in the digital world. WardheerNews, one of Somalia’s most respected news portals, suddenly vanished from the cyberspace of the capital and the country’s southern regions. It wasn’t a glitch. It wasn’t a technical issue. It was the work of Villa Somalia’s digital enforcers—a shadowy cyber hit squad tasked with making sure the truth remains Somalia’s most endangered species.

Now, if you thought Al-Shabaab was the biggest threat to Somalia’s future, think again. This government has proven time and again that its true enemy isn’t terrorism, corruption, or even famine—it’s free speech.

A President Who Sees Dissent as Treason

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is not just your average power-hungry leader. No, that would be too boring. He is, in fact, a man on a mission—one that involves silencing every critical voice in the country while convincing himself that he is the sole enlightened being in a sea of wrongheaded mortals.

Every week, without fail, he unveils yet another bizarre, mind-boggling directive. It’s almost as if he has a personal bet with himself to outdo his own absurdity. His latest masterpiece? Banning opposition parties from holding meetings in hotels. Their crime? Daring to exercise their constitutional right to express an opinion. The next step? Threatening to disarm them—because in Somalia, free speech is apparently more dangerous than the terrorists wreaking havoc across the nation.

And let’s not forget his pièce de résistance: drafting his very own constitution, tailor-made to concentrate all power in his office. This wasn’t some democratic, consultative process. No, no. It was more of a ” Here, I wrote the rules. Now, obey.” moment. Then, out of nowhere, he declared that Somalia was moving to a one-person, one-vote system—without consultation, without consensus, and without any plan whatsoever. If governance were a game of Uno, he’d be the guy who keeps throwing down the “Draw Four” card while insisting it’s a fair play.

The Delusional Quest for Absolute Control

In the dusty tea shops of Mogadishu and the vibrant marketplaces of Kismayo, there’s a whispered joke making the rounds: “The president thinks he’s the only fish in the sea.”

And honestly, they’re not wrong. This is a man who believes he is Somalia’s sole visionary, the only one with the right answers, and the only leader the country needs. The problem? His vision seems to involve bulldozing every democratic principle in sight.

People are beginning to question whether his obsession with power is simply a political strategy or something more!
Symptoms of megalomania? Check.
Delusions of grandeur? Check.  
A firm belief that the country belongs to him alone? Triple check.

If he weren’t in politics, he’d be the kind of guy who renames his WiFi network “HSM’sInternet – Bow Before Me” just to remind the neighbors who’s in charge.

The Journalist Who Paid the Price for Speaking the Truth

Of course, Hassan Sheikh’s paranoia isn’t just about making life miserable for opposition politicians. No, his regime is especially cruel to journalists.

Take Ali Adan Mumin, for example—a sharp political commentator who dared to expose government corruption. His reward? A one-way ticket to a Mogadishu prison cell. The government claims he was arrested for “threatening national security.” But let’s be real: His actual crime was refusing to applaud the president’s incompetence.

This follows a well-established pattern. Journalists in Somalia don’t just risk being silenced—they risk their lives. If they’re not arrested, they’re mysteriously gunned down in broad daylight. If they survive that, they wake up one morning to find their websites and social media pages erased from existence. It’s as if the government spends more time hunting down journalists than it does fighting Al-Shabaab.

Speaking of which!

Terrorists Roam Free, but Facebook Critics Get Hunted Down

While the government is busy deleting Facebook pages and blocking news websites, Al-Shabaab’s propaganda machine is alive and thriving. The terrorist group has mastered the art of online recruitment, radicalizing young minds through slick digital campaigns.

You’d think the government’s cyber forces would focus on taking down these extremists. But no. Instead, they’re busy tracking down Somali teenagers who dare to post memes mocking the president. Priorities, right?

If Hassan Sheikh put as much effort into counterterrorism as he does into silencing critics, Somalia might actually have a shot at peace. But alas, his government is too preoccupied with controlling narratives, suppressing dissent, and making sure no one points out the emperor has no clothes.

The Last Strongholds: How Two Regions Avoided the President’s Digital Iron Fist

One of the only reasons Somalia still has pockets of free speech is that Puntland and Somaliland remain beyond the president’s reach. If he had control over their telecommunications companies—SOMTEL and GOLIS—every dissenting online news portals and website would have disappeared overnight. His censorship machine would have smothered the entire country, leaving nothing but his own propaganda in its wake.

Imagine an entire nation where the only “news” available was about Hassan Sheikh’s supposed brilliance. A place where every radio station played his speeches on loop, and every internet search returned only glowing articles about his leadership. It would be a dystopian nightmare—with poor internet speed.

The World Must Not Look Away

Somalia is at a crossroads. The international community preaches press freedom and human rights, but what good are statements of concern if they come with zero action?

How many more journalists need to die? How many more voices must be erased? How many more opposition figures must be jailed before the world realizes that Somalia is slipping into the abyss of dictatorship?

The answer cannot be one more.

And yet, as long as Hassan Sheikh Mohamud continues his war on truth, the suffocation of Somalia will only deepen. Unless, of course, someone finally pulls the rug out from under him—before he does it to himself.

Abdullahi A. Nor
Email: abdulahinor231@gmail.com  

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