By Abdullahi A. Nor

Somalia’s federal government appears to have opened a new front—not against Al-Shabaab militants, but against dissenting voices and independent assessments of the country’s spiraling security crisis. In the span of just 24 hours, two respected figures—African Union Special Representative Sivuyile Thandikhaya and former Prime Minister and presidential candidate Abdi Farah Shirdoon “Saacid”—have been publicly branded as sympathizers of the very terrorist group they are warning the world about.

The first salvo came during a heated press conference when Foreign Minister Ahmed Ma’alin Fiqi blasted the African Union’s senior envoy to Somalia for reporting to the United Nations Security Council that Al-Shabaab had made substantial territorial gains and was recalibrating its public image by ceasing civilian killings and releasing captured Somali soldiers unharmed.

Mr. Thandikhaya, tasked with overseeing ATMIS—the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia—had emphasized that Al-Shabaab’s change in tactics was designed to position itself as a viable alternative to a government plagued by corruption, nepotism, and dysfunction. He warned the international community not to mistake this shift for moderation but to understand it as a strategic play for legitimacy.

“The group has paused mass atrocities and is now using anti-corruption rhetoric to win local trust,” Mr. Thandikhaya said in his Security Council briefing. “This is not peace—it’s political preparation.”

Rather than respond with facts, Minister Fiqi accused Thandikhaya of being “an Al-Shabaab operative,” and implied that his stay in Somalia may be terminated. The reaction was swift and alarmist, shocking diplomats and observers alike.

“To brand an AU envoy a terrorist sympathizer for presenting documented facts is not just undiplomatic—it’s absurd,” said Dr. Maria de Souza, a Horn of Africa analyst. “Mr. Thandikhaya didn’t praise Al-Shabaab; he rang the alarm bell that the government is losing the battle both militarily and ideologically.”

Just as outrage over Fiqi’s attack on Thandikhaya was still simmering, the minister doubled down on his combative rhetoric—this time targeting former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdoon “Saacid.”

Speaking at the launching of his new party Nagaag on April 17, Saacid delivered a scathing assessment of the current security situation upon returning to Mogadishu. He warned that Al-Shabaab was tightening its grip around the capital, with strategic outposts like Ex-Control Bal’ad and Ex-Control Afgoye seeing heavy militant activity. “The first line of defense for Mogadishu is now two checkpoints in Hamar,” he said. “Where is the powerful Somali nation we once knew?”

Saacid emphasized that the Somalia of today is a shadow of its former self. “We are not in the world anymore,” he lamented. “All that remains is ruin. If we want to save this rich country, we need political change—urgently.”

That call for change—coming from a respected former premier—was met with fury by Fiqi.

“That man didn’t even pass through Hamar. He stayed in a hotel and gave a press conference—he didn’t see the city,” Fiqi said, mocking Saacid’s brief return to Mogadishu. “He’s come to serve a political agenda and insult our army. He will be stopped.”

The Foreign Minister did not stop there. He ominously suggested that individuals who “cross the line” politically may face arrest and that the government will respond “even harder” to political critiques cloaked in security commentary. “If you deny our army, we will deny you,” he declared.

The dangerous pattern is clear, say political observers: critics of the Somali government—whether international diplomats or former heads of state—are being cast as traitors or terror sympathizers if they dare speak openly about the mounting failures of the current administration.

“Labeling critics as pro-Al-Shabaab is the new defense mechanism of a failing government,” said a former Somali intelligence official who requested anonymity. “It’s a tactic to intimidate and silence rather than reflect and improve.”

Under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration, Somalia has seen a sharp decline in security, governance, and intergovernmental cohesion. The once-united Somali National Army is now fragmented, with many trained units lost in the field and new recruits accused of being hastily assembled for show. Federal Member States (FMS) such as Jubaland and Puntland have grown increasingly defiant, openly rejecting Mogadishu’s directives.

“When a country is falling apart, the worst thing you can do is censor reality,” said Halima Noor, a civil society leader in Kismayo. “This administration is lashing out because it can no longer control the narrative.”

And yet, it was the very African Union and its forces under ATMIS that have kept Somalia from falling fully into Al-Shabaab’s hands for more than a decade. Now, the AU’s chief representative is under threat of expulsion for speaking the truth.

“If ATMIS pulls out because of these political tantrums, Al-Shabaab won’t hesitate to march into Villa Somalia,” warned Paul Nkurunziza, a security advisor to the East African Command. “The AU has shed blood for this country. This kind of disrespect is disgraceful.”

Calls are now mounting for President Hassan Sheikh to distance himself from his minister’s inflammatory remarks and to reaffirm Somalia’s commitment to civil discourse and international cooperation.“Criticism should be answered with policy, not prison threats,” said Yasmin Moallim, a legal advocate. “We are in a democratic transition, not a dictatorship. Or at least, we’re supposed to be.”

As Mogadishu continues to face pressure on all fronts—militarily, politically, and economically—the federal government’s aggressive posture toward dissent may only accelerate its isolation.

And as former PM Saacid warned: “If we do not change course now, we will lose not only this moment but this nation.”

Abdullahi A. Nor
Email: abdulahinor231@gmail.com