Horn Observer

03/09/2026

Somalia: How Mogadishu Removes a Regional President. It Costs Cash, or It Costs an Army

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — No president of a Somali federal member state has ever left office through a clean election. In three states over eight years, Mogadishu has removed sitting presidents using one of two methods: pay them to go, or send the army. Two of those states are voting ag...

03/09/2026

Somalia: How Sadia Bajaaj Was Convicted — Inside the Judge Swap and the Pressure Behind Her Case

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On August 12, the Banadir Regional Court of Appeal overturned Sadia Moalim Ali's three-year prison sentence, freeing the activist known as Sadia Bajaaj after 122 days in custody. The release was widely covered as a win for free speech in Somalia. Less examined ...

01/09/2026

The Copyright Trap: How fake claims are silencing independent media and journalists in Somalia via Somali Journalists Syndicate - SJS

https://hornobserver.com/articles/3723/The-Copyright-Trap-How-fake-claims-are-silencing-independent-media-and-journalists-in-Somalia

28/08/2026

Somalia Faces New Flood Threat Amid Hunger Crisis, NRC Warns

Mogadishu, Somalia (Horn Observer) Somalia is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis as prolonged drought, conflict and major reductions in aid leave millions struggling to survive. Communities that have already lost homes, livestock and livelihoods are now preparing for another potential disaster:....

26/08/2026

IPI: Africa Media Freedom Monitoring: April to June 2026

https://hornobserver.com/articles/3719/IPI-Africa-Media-Freedom-Monitoring-April-to-June-2026

26/08/2026

Mogadishu, Somalia (Horn Observer) Somalia's Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Abdifatah Qasim Mohamud, has concluded a four-day "Peace Journalists" training programme in Mogadishu, organized by the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) with support from Saudi Arabia.
Read more....
https://hornobserver.com/articles/3718/Somalia-Trains-Journalists-as-New-Frontline-Against-Digital-Extremism

12/08/2026

Somalia's New Speaker Got His Parliamentary Seat Through a Military Operation. His Career Was Built by Turkey.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On 30 March 2026, armoured personnel carriers rolled through the streets of Baidoa. By nightfall, Southwest State President Abdiaziz Laftagareen had fled and announced his resignation on Facebook. Federal troops had entered the capital of Somalia's second-large...

12/08/2026

Somalia's Appeals Court Frees Sadiyo Bajaaj, Rebukes a Conviction Built on Nothing

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On August 12, 2026, the Banadir Regional Court of Appeal overturned the three-year prison sentence handed to Sadiyo Moalin Ali, widely known as Sadiyo Bajaaj, and ordered her immediate release, ruling that the conviction against her never had a legal foundation...

08/08/2026

A Government With One Foot Out the Door: Somalia's Foreign Passport Crisis

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On June 24, 2026, Somalia's Second Deputy Prime Minister, Jibril Abdirashid Haji, arrived at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport aboard a flight from Mogadishu. Kenyan immigration officers stopped him at the gate. His Kenyan passport, they said, had b...

08/08/2026

Somaliland Seeks International Partnerships as Government Highlights Progress in Peace, Development and Recognition

Nairobi – Kenya (Horn Observer) Somaliland's president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi