Unfortunately, we must announce that we are discontinuing Acacia. This was not an easy decision, and we want to sincerely thank you for being part of this journey. We began the newsletter with great enthusiasm and a genuine belief that it could add meaningful value to the Somali media landscape. We believe it did, and it has become clear that there is a strong need for this kind of initiative. If anyone is considering launching something similar, please know that you have our full encouragement.

Geeska will soon be introducing a news section on our main website, so we encourage you to keep an eye out for that. For now, however, we must sadly say goodbye on Substack.

To the more than 600 of you who subscribed, read, and engaged with Acacia—thank you. Your support has meant a great deal to us. If you wish to continue following our work, we remain active on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

With gratitude and best wishes,

The Geeska Team.

https://www.geeska.com/en

Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

Do you remember that clip (here) from April of a white woman racially abusing an autistic Somali child in Rochester, Minnesota? Her name is Shiloh Hendrix, and when a man confronted her and filmed the encounter she was entirely unrepentant. The incident became a siren call for the far right, which raised nearly $823,458 on her behalf on GiveSendGo, with the Independent reporting she’d been elevated into a sort of “cultural folk hero”. Figures like Nick Fuentes, Tim Pool and Matt Walsh all rushed to her defence. Well: Hendrix is now facing a disorderly conduct charge. In many ways, Somalis are the canaries in the coal mine for what The Guardian describes as a major shift in public attitudes; one “where bigoted acts receive more open, tangible support than ever before”. Blaze TV, a prominent right-wing YouTube channel, for example, has a whole video on “Zohran Mamdani & Somali Radicals”. We’ve flagged this in several previous newsletters, in relation to other prominent Somali-Americans such as Ilhan Omar, Omar Fateh, and most recently Ismail Mohamed, a Democratic state representative from Ohio.

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Staying in the US, a more positive example of engaging with diversity came from Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, who attended the Ogaden National Liberation Front’s (ONLF) 41st anniversary. He’s giving Duolingo streak energy. Hoyo Sambusa, a company founded by Somali sisters a decade ago to employ Somali women, is also making its debut at the Minnesota State Fair. Look here.

Pivoting back to the Horn of Africa: Hargeisa has entered the five-star hotel era with the much anticipated opening of the Serene Sarovar Premiere. Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), attended the inauguration.

That’s the entrée. This week we’re covering geopolitics: visits to Mogadishu by Emirati and Sudanese delegations; Egypt seemingly on track to join the African peacekeeping force in Somalia — much to Ethiopia’s irritation; the dangers of DIY skin lightening; a focus on Sudan in the region; and more.

Geopolitics: Sudan and UAE jockey for influence in Mogadishu

Mogadishu had an unusually busy week of visitors, as both Sudan and the United Arab Emirates dispatched delegations to Villa Somalia within two days of each other. First through the doors was Sudan’s intelligence chief, Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mufaddal. He met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Villa Somalia, carrying a message from Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The note, according to an official readout, reaffirmed Khartoum’s “commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation with Somalia in all areas of mutual interest.” Then the UAE stepped in. State minister for foreign affairs, Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan, arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday with what the Somalis called a “special message” from Mohammed bin Zayed but no further details. Veteran Voice of America journalist, Harun Maruf, asked: “What was the message?” Somalia’s state news agency, SONNA, reported that the two meetings were unrelated.

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Not everyone is convinced. Omar Mahmoud, the International Crisis Group’s senior Somalia analyst, told Acacia: “The visits were likely linked to allegations that the UAE has been using Bosaso as one of the corridors for Emirati planes on the way to Sudan”. Mahmoud added: “Sudan has been rallying diplomatic support against the UAE and Somalia sits on the UN security council, increasings its stature. The UAE rather likely wants to keep the issue out of open discussion”. Rich Tedd, a journalist who monitors flights across northeast Africa recently told Acacia that nearly 80 military cargo flights landed in eastern Libya in July, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have a presence — with more than half of them, originating from Bosaso, Puntland. Sudan has already lodged a protest directly with Mogadishu. Somali authorities aren’t able to do much about it. Cameron Hudson, a senior associate in the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, tells Acacia. “Somalia is too beholden, as the UAE plays a role in counterterrorism against IS-Somalia.” He adds that Puntland has become one of five likely locations — alongside the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya, and Chad — from which Abu Dhabi resupplies the RSF. “The UAE has virtually encircled Sudan,” Hudson says.

Geopolitics: Egypt troops on track to join African peacekeepers in Somalia – Ethiopia isn’t happy

Preparations for the deployment of an Egyptian contingent in the African Union’s peacekeeping force in Somalia, the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom), remain on track, as a unit of Egyptian soldiers has completed its training programme and will soon join the force. In a post on X, Somalia’s defence ministry welcomed the news, adding: “This step underscores Egypt’s strong commitment to supporting Somalia’s security and strengthening the capacity of the Somali National Army through the new Aussom framework.” Egypt’s contingent will be the smallest (just over 1,000), fighting alongside Djiboutian, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Ugandan troops against al-Shabaab in south-central Somalia. Egypt and Somalia have been strengthening their relationship (including mutual defence pact) since last year when since Somaliland and Ethiopia’s sea access deal last year. Somalia welcomed Egypt’s participation in the African peacekeeping force, which Egypt accepted. Cairo has its own dispute with Ethiopia over a project to construct a dam on the Nile. The memorandum infuriated Somalia, which accused Ethiopia of annexing its territory, but a deal was eventually brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the so-called Ankara Declaration, which put bilateral relations back on track.

Last week, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Türkiye, Adem Mohammed, told the Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansı that the declaration was working despite reports the Ankara Declaration was dead. In any case, Egyptian-Somali cooperation has continued. Last August, Emirati newspaper The National reported that Egypt had bilaterally deployed 300 special forces from its commando units. Egypt has also sent Somalia arms. And now the plan to deploy troops has further irked Ethiopia, which had previously advised Somalia against allowing Egyptian troops to be stationed there. In an interview this week with Somali channel Universal TV, Ethiopia’s newly appointed ambassador, Sulaiman Dedefo, said his country was “not scared and not threatened by the presence of Egyptian forces” as long as they do not “challenge our forces.” He added that Egypt lacked a track record of peacekeeping success and, in a broadside, suggested they focus on Palestine, Libya, and Sudan. Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakhri said Ethiopian criticisms were “unacceptable and only intended to provoke instability”. Liam Karr, Africa Lead for the Critical Threats newsletter, however, speculated that Somalia could become a “potential proxy theatre” if tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia escalate into violence.

Politics: Somalia’s election drama - splits, deals, and the [long] road to 2026

Somalia’s election season is entering a chaotic phase. The once-unified Salvation Forum — a coalition of opposition heavyweights including former presidents and three prime ministers — has fractured after ex-PM Omar Sharmarke, former speakers Sharif Hassan and Mohamed Mursal, and ex-minister Dahir Gelle struck a deal with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The agreement resets the electoral rules over which there has been serious dispute: parliament will elect the president; the president will appoint a prime minister subject to parliamentary approval (with MPs retaining the power to withdraw confidence); any political group with 10% of seats becomes a national party (with no limit to parties); and both sides pledge to “advance direct elections (one person, one vote).” The deal marks a break from Hassan Sheikh’s earlier push for a nationwide one-person-one-vote presidential model and his controversial amendments expanding presidential powers. AU chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf hailed it as a “political achievement,” while IGAD’s Dr Workneh Gebeyehu called it “an important step towards advancing unity, stability, and reconciliation.”

Critics, however, see danger in the fine print. Afyare Elmi, a Somali academic, warned the government is “picking and choosing provisions” while leaving Somalia without a shared constitution, arguing the deal effectively locks in a term extension since current laws “cannot be implemented within eight months.” Puntland and Jubaland are still outside the talks and many opposition leaders still reject the president’s model outright, so the deal is a partial breakthrough at best. Analyst Hussein Sabrie added that the government’s record undermines its promises: despite passing a National Elections Act mandating one-person-one-vote, recent parliamentary seats, state assemblies, and even Mogadishu’s mayoral appointments were all filled without public input. “If direct elections were not used to choose” these posts, he asked, “how can there be confidence that one-person-one-vote elections will suddenly be conducted simultaneously” across the country?

Society: TikTok’s DIY skin-lightening craze

A video went viral this week showing a woman casually dumping tubs of skin-lightening creams and chemicals into a cement mixer — yes, the kind used for construction — to whip up her own melanin destroying concoction. On TikTok alone, it has racked up more than half a million views. In clips promoting her product, the same woman claims you’ll be “white in two days.” The mix, known as qasqas, containing everything from eggs to baby oil, cocoa butter and various skin lighteners, is scooped into jars and sold for as little as three dollars. A quick search of “qasqas” on TikTok pulls up hundreds of similar videos: influencers mixing, packaging, and marketing these unregulated blends like DIY beauty hacks. Men also use the products but they’re targeted at women. Skin-lightening has long been marketed as a shortcut to beauty and a world of opportunity, but these products often contain dangerously high levels of harmful chemicals and have been linked to cancer. Dr. Mohamed Osman, pharmacist and researcher, told Acacia that “these products contribute to chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, damage women’s skin to the point of sun intolerance, reducing vitamin D”. The global market for skin whitening was estimated at $8.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow further, reaching $5.7 billion by 2030. Several multinational corporations make huge profits by exploiting colourism, from Nivea to Unilever. The latter was forced to change the name of one of its lightening products, Fair & Lovely, after facing a backlash.

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Several African countries, starting with South Africa, have bans in place on the products, including South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. Somalia has not yet moved in this direction. “The lack of proper regulations and strict policies has allowed these products to flourish,” Dr. Osman said. Here’s the problem: most of the people making qasqas have zero training in chemistry, dermatology, or public health. Yet they’re selling skin-whitening creams with slogans like “get white right now” and disturbing promises that “hands and legs will be so white, people might get confused if you’re Syrian, Turkish, or Somali.” Some of the biggest accounts pushing qasqas, like Hiil Haween — ironically meaning “Feminine Solidarity” — with over 100,000 followers, are amplifying the trend.

Health: New study finds higher rates of hypotension in Somali women undergoing caesareans

Why are caesarean deliveries riskier for Somali mothers? A team of Somali doctors — Asha Abdullahi Barud, Ikran Abdulkadir Ali, Nasra Mohamud Hilowle, Hiba Bashir Hassan, and Iftin Mohamed Osman — recently set out to find answers. In their study, they discovered that 78% of mothers, in a 320 person sample, who underwent caesareans under spinal anaesthesia in Mogadishu experienced sudden drops in blood pressure. That is a much higher rate than reported in similar studies from countries such as Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Colombia. Another study, examining more than 12,500 deliveries in a Somali hospital between 2015 and 2021, found that 21.6% of births were c-sections — well above the World Health Organization’s recommended rate of 10–15%. Caesareans were most common among younger mothers, first-time mothers, those carrying full-term babies, and women who had missed regular prenatal check-ups. The study also reported a maternal death rate of 1.7%.

Asha Abdullahi Barud, one of the doctors who took part in the study, told Acacia that, given the higher incidence of hypotension in Somali caesareans, doctors need to be trained to recognise the signs of low blood pressure, and women should be provided with the necessary IV fluids and support. “The problem is preventable if people are ready and have the resources to help patients,” Barud said. She added that the study was an important breakthrough and encouraged other Somali academics to research various issues in Somalia’s health sector, in order to improve patient care and prevent avoidable complications and deaths.

Across the gees

• There is a glimmer of good news from Sudan, where an estimated two million people have returned to their homes in territories recaptured by the Sudanese army from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A report by the International Organization for Migration said of these returnees, 77% were internally displaced, while the remainder came back from abroad, mainly Egypt, Libya and South Sudan. The country has been called the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis” due to the scale of displacement, hunger and violence. Fighting still rages across the country.

• The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been battling the Sudanese army since 2023, has built long berms around the North Darfur city of El Fasher, according to a new report from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab. The city — the last major urban centre in Darfur under government control — has been besieged by the RSF for months, leaving its population starved. “With these berms, RSF is creating a literal kill box around El Fasher,” the report said. The report notes that these “berms will create physical boundaries to prevent smuggling goods like food and medicine into El Fasher or people out of El-Fasher.” At least 89 people have been killed in RSF attacks over the past 10 days in the city.

• In more positive developments, the quiet resilience of the Sudanese people was on display in a video showing them gathering to clean up Khartoum University’s Sport Science College. The RSF has been accused of looting the university. Khartoum University — the country’s oldest — retains a strong reputation across Africa for its programmes in law, medicine, and the natural sciences.

Africa

• Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan face severe shortages of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) due to US aid cuts under Trump, putting millions of malnourished children at risk, Save the Children warns. RUTF is a nutrient-dense, shelf-stable paste of peanuts, milk, sugar, oil, and vitamins for treating malnourished children. Save the Children estimates that 15.6 million people across 18 countries including over 2.3 million severely malnourished children could be cut off much needed food supplies.

Tangent

• Omar Mahmoud, the International Crisis Group’s senior Somalia analyst, interviewed for this issue of Acacia, has appeared on Somali Public Agenda to discuss Somaliland, Somalia’s security situation, and the new peacekeeping force, Aussom. It is a really good overview of the issues.

If you liked this please subscribe and share with your friends and family! For more in-depth and interesting coverage of East Africa, visit our website and nabad gelyo: https://www.geeska.com/en.

Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

The symbolism at US President Donald Trump’s meeting with European leaders earlier this week spoke volumes about who was in charge. Trump sat firmly at his desk, while the presidents and prime ministers of Europe’s most powerful nations sat opposite him like subordinates summoned to a performance review. It wasn’t missed on Ken Opalo, an expert on African politics and associate professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service who said: “Europeans getting the “Africa Summit” treatment, and not liking it.” That is doubly funny because, last week, Africa’s leaders went to Yokohama in Japan for one of those conferences.

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On the topic of mammals in places they ought not to be, Somaliland’s authorities have said they’ve seized 10 leopards that they believe were being illegally trafficked. Authorities found two suspects and the 10 leopards in Salahley, near the Ethiopian border. “The people who were driving are in police custody, and their cases have been prepared and forwarded to the prosecution,” said Abdinasir Hussein Said, director of wildlife at Somaliland’s environment ministry. Puntland’s president Said Deni expressed a similar concern this week about illegal fishing off the regional state’s coast. “I’m told disturbing things about what’s happening at sea, our fish are simply being taken,” Deni said. We reported on the scale of the problem in Puntland a few weeks ago. One disturbing thing that isn’t happening is a new ocean imminently opening up between the Somali Peninsula and the Ethiopian Highlands. A video that may have given false hope to Ethiopian nationalists seeking sea access has been deemed “MISLEADING” by AFP Factcheck.

A clip of Frank Caprio, the “nicest judge in the world”, who passed away earlier this week, has gone viral on Somali Twitter, in which he reacts to a Somali man gifting him three camels. “At first, I thought this must be a joke,” Caprio says in the short video, “but apparently it’s a very legitimate offer.” He later called Omar Hassan, and the clip includes that conversation. Check it out here. BBC Somali reported on his connection with the US’s Somali community. Staying in the US, far-right accounts have launched race-baiting attacks on Ohio State Representative Ismail Mohamed, a Democrat, after he posted a video outlining his work with other Somali legislators on Somalia. Another Ohio legislator, Jennifer Gross, invited attacks by quote-tweeting a far-right account that had shared the video, asking: “This is an Ohio State Representative. Thoughts?” This is obviously a trend. Take note.

We’re diving straight into the five stories we’re covering in more depth this week: the body of a Somali woman found in London; the US likely holding its line on Somaliland, per Semafor; Afyare Elmi speaks to Acacia about the state of the nation (spoiler: it isn’t good); and Minnesota Democrats pull their endorsement of Omar Fateh.

Society: Somali woman found dead in East London

An investigation is under way after 27-year-old Zahwa Salah Mukhtar, known as Zee, was found fatally injured on Chadwell Heath Lane, Romford, east London, at around 5:30 am on Saturday, 16 August. Despite the efforts of emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have confirmed that four men have been arrested: a 35-year-old on suspicion of murder, and another man, also 35, along with two younger men, aged 21 and 22, on suspicion of assisting an offender. “Our thoughts remain with Zahwa’s family and friends at this undoubtedly difficult time for them all,” said detective chief inspector Phil Clarke, who is leading the investigation. Zahwa’s family have paid tribute to her, describing her as “a kind and loving person with high aspirations in life” and someone whose “presence brought warmth to those around her.” Zahwa, who was deaf, was active in east London’s deaf community. In a post on Instagram, Hackney Deaf Club wrote: “She was a ray of sunshine and light!” Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

At a time when loved ones are grieving, the tragedy has been seized upon by far-right figures spreading misinformation. Tommy Robinson, a British right-wing Islamophobe, commented on X, framing the killing as “another honour killing on our shores”. Somalis in the comments section took him to task.

Politics: Is the US about to change policy on Somaliland? Doesn’t seem so certain.

An official close to the US State department has said to American outlet Semafor that Washington’s stance on Somalia has not shifted, despite mounting speculation about possible US recognition of Somaliland. “There has been no change in the US policy on Somalia,” the official said. However, the source did say that the US’s Somalia policy is set for review. The clarification comes after a swirl of attention in recent months, following high-profile calls from Capitol Hill for the US to consider recognising Somaliland. This has been the biggest topic on Somali socials this week. Among the most vocal advocates is Republican senator Ted Cruz, who has pressed US president Donald Trump to recognise Somaliland in a letter and later doubled down on his podcast, saying he is “optimistic that there is a real chance the president will recognise Somaliland,” praising the self-declared republic’s “real courage standing up to China and embracing Israel and the Abraham Accords.” Earlier this month, Trump said his country is “working on it,” when asked about Somaliland and Republican representative Scott Perry introduced another bill backing Somaliland recognition, though the legislation has stalled. Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), has sought to tip the scale in his favour on this issue — first by offering a naval base on its coast, and more recently by announcing his nomination of Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.

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Not everyone is convinced recognition would serve US interests, or that it would be a great idea. Somaliland’s has become a more important question in US politics, as Faisal Roble, a well connected veteran Somali analyst pointed out on Brit Somali TV, but added that the US is primarily focussed on fighting IS-Somalia and al-Shabaab. Former US ambassador to Somalia Larry André warned it could “harm our relations with Somalilanders who support reunion with historic Somalia as a whole, with the Horn of Africa region, and with the African Union” in a widely discussed Substack post. He added it would “destabilise Somali clan relations” and risk “increasing the influence of rival powers.” André’s concern stems from unresolved disputes over Somaliland’s borders, which remain contested in the eastern regions of Sool and Sanaag by Puntland and the North East State and a feared lack of consensus about the potential impact.

Society: All living former Somali presidents unite against alleged land grabs

In an unprecedented joint letter, all of Somalia’s living former presidents—Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo (9th), Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (7th), and Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (5th)—have called on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to immediately halt what they describe as the opaque sale of public land in Mogadishu and the forced displacement of poor families living on it. Since returning to power in 2022, Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has faced repeated criticism over alleged public land sales, though the issue remains unclear. The government has not commented on the allegations. Citing the Somali Provisional Constitution and land distribution laws, the former presidents argued that none of the legal safeguards required by law have been observed, from allegedly bypassing the National Procurement Authority to failing to deposit proceeds into the treasury. The letter also appealed directly to businesspeople, warning them not to participate in what they called the “corruption and looting of national property.”

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At present all we’ve seen are allegations, as no conclusive evidence has been made public proving that the government has sold land to private interests. The lack of transparency is part of the problem. But their appeal follows deadly clashes last week in Tarabuunka, Hodan district, Mogadishu, after government forces attempted to evict families from land authorities said belonged to the state. Residents, many of whom had lived in the area for decades, resisted, triggering heavy fighting. The government framed the operation as an effort to “ensure security and combat illegal firearms,” but critics across the Somali political spectrum strongly disagreed. Former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire called it “an assault on poor families.” Mohamed Hussein Roble, another recent former prime minister, described it as “a national tragedy.” Opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur accused the administration and private businesses of enabling “corrupt land grabs that destroy morale within the security forces.”

Futures: Somalia’s third republic could come to an end, warns Afyare Elmi

You’ve probably seen some dramatic headlines lately about al-Shabaab capturing town after town, raising serious questions—at least for some—about whether Mogadishu itself might be at risk. The Telegraph, for instance, reports Somalia is “gripped by fears of militant Islamic uprising” as al-Shabaab advances towards the capital. The Economist says “Somalia’s state-building project is in tatters”. The articles drew backlash from many Somalis who felt they overstated the threat. So, we spoke to Afyare Elmi, a prominent Somali academic, to help make sense of it all.

• Question: Al-Shabaab has retaken a lot of south-central Somalia. Some say it’s a major crisis; others call it a temporary setback. Where do you stand?

Afyare Elmi: It’s been one step forward, two steps back on this. It’s not the end of the government, but we can’t dismiss those concerns. That said, it’s beyond reach for al-Shabaab to capture big cities like Beledweyne and Jowhar, for now.

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• Question: External actors are turning to local partners beyond Mogadishu. Have they given up on the Somali state or are they just making peace with reality?

AE: This reflects the failure of the national project in Mogadishu, which no longer appeals to other parts of Somalia. I don’t think dual-track engagement — speaking to both the central government and regional authorities — can be avoided. Mogadishu simply lacks the control and influence it wants to have.

• Question: We have another election dispute, more talk of the need for dialogue and inclusivity. What’s really stopping Somalia from building stable, trusted institutions that can’t be bypassed by powerful politicians?

AE: The biggest obstacle is the behaviour of incumbent leaders. They rarely take elections seriously and when they do, it’s self-serving. That triggers pushback, rushed deals for ad hoc elections, and we’re back to square one. They won’t break the cycle.

• Question: You recently asked if Somalia’s “third republic” can be saved. Nearly 20 years on, do you still think it can?

AE: Right now, collapse seems more likely than survival. If nothing changes, I’m afraid the third republic will definitely come to an end.

Diaspora: Minnesota’s Democratic Party revokes endorsement of Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) has revoked its endorsement of State Senator Omar Fateh in the Minneapolis mayoral race, citing “substantial failures” in the 19 July convention process. Party Chair Richard Carlbom stated that the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee found that “a mayoral candidate was errantly eliminated from contention,” prompting the committee to vacate the endorsement. Fateh, a socialist and the first Black mayoral candidate to receive the DFL’s backing in three decades, blasted the move as insider politics. “Twenty-eight party insiders voted to take away our endorsement behind closed doors. Mayor Frey’s team used every tactic they could because they didn’t have the votes. This is the disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers. We’re still in this fight—and we’re going to win.”

The decision drew condemnation from prominent Somali-American leaders—Representative Ilhan Omar, State senator Zaynab Mohamed, and City Council Member Jamal Osman—who joined other DFL officials in calling it “inexcusable” and “a stain on our party.” In a joint statement, they warned it “sets a dangerous precedent,” undermines the will of delegates, and reflects “the influence of big money in our politics.” Omar echoed the sentiment on X, posting: “A small group, a majority living outside Minneapolis, met privately to overturn the will of delegates,” adding, “Unacceptable.” The revocation follows Fateh’s successful campaign, which drew comparisons to Zohran Mamdani’s victory over Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary in New York. Since announcing his candidacy and securing the DFL endorsement, Fateh has faced persistent racism from leading right-wing voices.

Across the gees

• Last week, we reported that Julia Sebutinde, a Ugandan judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a self-identified Christian Zionist, said she believed God was counting on her to “stand on the side of Israel” because we have entered the “End Times”. She famously dissented in a genocide case brought before the ICJ against Israel. In light of her apparent confession that her personal beliefs, rather than the legal merits of the case, are guiding her decisions, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has called for her removal in a letter to the ICJ judges. AOHR UK argues that she has breached the impartiality clauses that govern how judges are expected to conduct themselves.

• Last week, we also reported that South Sudan denied claims it was negotiating with Israel to help resettle Palestinians from Gaza there. The New York Times has now also reported that talks between South Sudan and Israel have taken place. Libya likewise denied involvement in such discussions, but Middle East Eye cites European and Middle Eastern sources who say those denials are likely false. Senior Israeli officials have on multiple occasions expressed support for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

• Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, and Egypt have joined 50 other Muslim countries in condemning a remark made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he expressed his belief in a “Greater Israel” during an interview with Israeli outlet i24. You’ve probably seen image but it would include large parts of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and even as far as Türkiye.

Africa

• Egypt has uncovered more ruins from a sunken city off Alexandria: buildings, artefacts, and a 2,000-year-old dock, all submerged in Abu Qir Bay. Officials say the site may be part of ancient Canopus, a key hub under the Ptolemies, a Greek dynasty that took over after Alexander, and later the Romans. It ruled for centuries before the sea did. Somewhere, Atlantis is seething.

Tangents

• Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford travelled to Puntland in northern Somalia this week, where she filmed a documentary about the authorities’ fight against IS-Somalia. Puntland’s troops have been fighting against IS-Somalia for months now. Check it out.

If you liked this please subscribe and share with your friends and family! For more in-depth and interesting coverage of East Africa, visit our website and nabad gelyo: https://www.geeska.com/en.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

We want to begin this issue with a tribute to five Al Jazeera journalists who were killed last week in an Israeli airstrike outside Gaza's al-Shifa hospital. Anas al-Sharif, Al Jazeera Arabic’s main correspondent in northern Gaza, was among those killed in a targeted attack. We also now know, thanks to reporting by +972 Magazine, that Israel has a unit within its armed forces responsible for smearing the reputations of journalists in Gaza, which is where those Hamas accusations come from. In a post on X, Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar said she was grateful to the “courageous truth-teller journalists” for their “bravery and sacrifice” in covering the unfolding genocide. Mohamed Rabi Yusuf, Somalia’s deputy UN representative, delivered a forceful speech midweek on the issue at the UN security council, where he questioned the purpose of the council if it cannot bring the carnage in Gaza to an end. “Let the response not be graveyard silence. And silence in a moment like this is not neutrality. For all the victims it is a verdict,” said Yusuf.

Whilst those Al Jazeera journalists were killed for reporting the truth, Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s lucrative grift as an tireless recycler of racist stereotypes about Muslims and Somalis is still bearing fruit. She appeared on the UK-based right-wing outlet GB News, where she continued spreading the lies that keep her relevant in that milieu. She fares extremely badly in comparison with Nuruddin Farah, the Somali novelist, who remains in good standing in his community despite being a critical voice. He received an honorary doctorate at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) this week. SOAS referred to him as an “Ethiopian novelist” on their website. Do they know what he’s all about? Speaking of Somalis in Ethiopia, this week the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a former Somali armed liberation group in Ethiopia that laid down its arms in 2018, marked the 41st anniversary of its founding on Friday. Things are heating up there as a standoff between the ONLF and the regional authorites escalates. We’ll be covering that more in future issues, but if you want to get your head around the basic issues, we interviewed Juweria Ali, an expert on the group, a few weeks ago.

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That’s the introduction. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week. It will be politics-heavy, but the Horn of Africa region is really at a crossroads, so do stick around. We speak to independent flight monitor Rich Tedd, an analyst who tracks air traffic in East Africa, about suspicious flights from Puntland to Sudan, Ted Cruz’s letter to Trump pushing for Somaliland’s recognition, the phenomenon of Somali government ghost workers, and much more.

Geopolitics: The UAE, Puntland, RSF pipeline

Independent journalist Rich Tedd has revealed that nearly 80 military cargo flights landed in eastern Libya in July, with more than half—43 flights—coming directly from Bosaso, Puntland. “Flights between Bosaso and eastern Libya have been taking place since late 2024, with activity increasing markedly through June and July,” Tedd told Acacia. “Most have operated between Bosaso and Kufrah, with some transferring suspicious supplies later stored in cargo warehouses at Kufrah Airport.” Tedd added that the timing of the flights, and their cargo “strongly suggests a link to the RSF”. Puntland and the UAE have denied supplying the paramilitary group that is waging war against the Sudanese army. The Sudanese government has sent Somalia a letter protesting Puntland’s role in facilitating support for the RSF.

“Bosaso appears to be functioning as a key transit point and logistics hub, with support and personnel arriving from the UAE before being flown on to Kufrah and other parts of eastern Libya,” said Tedd. A recent report by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) found a RSF base in south eastern Libya. And in July, African Intelligence alleged that the UAE uses Bosaso Airport to run an airlift supporting Sudan’s RSF. The stakes have increased in recent weeks with footage emerging on social of Columbian mercenaries fighting across Sudan. Tedd says flights, often under Kyrgyz registrations with Gewan Airways carry also carry Colombian mercenaries through Bosaso towards RSF strongholds in Sudan. The war in Sudan has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with the RSF in particular being accused of genocide in Darfur.

Geopolitics: Ted Cruz calls on Trump to recognise Somaliland

Influential US Senator Ted Cruz has written to President Donald Trump, urging him to recognise Somaliland within its pre-union borders with Somalia. The letter was welcomed by Somaliland’s spokesperson. In his letter, Cruz said that recognising Somaliland would be of “greatest benefit to American national security interests”. He outlined several reasons why he believed the US should proceed. Cruz said Somaliland was stable and democratic; and noted that Somaliland is strategically located, cooperates with Taiwan, and “has sought to strengthen ties with Israel and voiced support for the Abraham Accords”. Somalia’s ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan, issued a statement warning that any move threatening Somalia’s territorial integrity would embolden extremist groups the country is actively fighting. China’s embassy in Mogadishu also released a statement in which it never named Cruz, but said it “firmly opposes” what it called the “bullying attitude of certain US politicians to the Somali people”.

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Cruz’s letter is the latest indication that a policy shift towards Hargeisa from the US may be on the horizon. Last week, Trump said he was “working on” the Somaliland issue, though he offered no further details. Meanwhile, UK MP Gavin Williamson, a vocal advocate for Somaliland, said US officials told him Trump intends to recognise Somaliland before the end of his term. Since 2022, Somaliland has actively engaged with anti-China hawks, Republican politicians, and key figures in Washington’s foreign policy circles, successfully positioning itself as a valuable partner.

Society: The people against the telecom oligarchs

Earlier week, Somaliland’s three largest private telecom companies—Telesom (a Hormuud subsidiary), Somtel (owned by the Dahabshiil Group), and the newest entrant, Solteco—faced intense public backlash after they attempted to simultatenously double the price of mobile data and prepaid services. Prominent human rights lawyer Guleid Ahmed Dafac was among the first to sound the alarm. Speaking to Acacia, Dafac called the move “illegal, and clearly an anti-competitive deal,” adding that it “goes against the free market” and could set a dangerous precedent for other sectors. “It will encourage other private companies to make such illegal deals, which will harm the poor community,” he warned.

Mobilising the public online, Dafac announced a peaceful protest and sent a letter to the interior ministry informing them. “I felt it necessary to organise the public because this deal endangered justice and the rule of law,” Dafac said. However, the ministry later claimed it had not received the letter and said that “no protests are allowed,” despite the letter being made public. Public pressure, however, proved decisive. President Abdirahman Abdullahi Ciro ordered the price hike halted and instructed that prices return to their previous levels until further notice. Though Dafac announced the postponement of the protests, he remains sceptical, describing the directive as “vague and unclear.” Some of the companies later issued statements claiming they had “listened to the public.”

Speaking on the potential impact of ther price rise, Dafac said: “It will contribute to the widening wealth gap, where wealth will fall into the hands of a few, making life much harder for the poor.” This has direct implications for the quality of Somaliland’s democracy. These companies, and their telecom subsidiaries, control a large share of the economy, bankroll the campaigns of politicians, and operate revolving doors of employees moving into government and back into company ranks. Claire Elder describes Somaliland more as an “oligopolistic state” than a democracy in the sense that power is concentrated among a few elites and corporate actors who limit genuine political competition. “We have constitutional weaknesses,” Dafac says, and “anti-corruption measures are largely absent.”

Government: The government’s army of ghost workers

The governor of Banadir region, Hassan Mohamed Mungab, recently revealed that of the 3,000 employees on the regional administration payroll, fewer than 600 actually show up for work. The rest? They are what we’d call ghost workers. In 2023, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that over 5,000 government workers are registered in the national biometric system, yet only 1,500 report for duty on any given day. “Where are the rest?” the president asked. “They do not exist or they do not live in the country. However, they are still paid. They are thieves, and so are the superiors who approve these payments. They are stealing public money.”

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The rot runs deeper. Even the country’s parliament suffers from chronic absenteeism. In a recent session, only 87 of 275 MPs bothered to attend, forcing yet another session to be halted for lack of quorum. Many lawmakers live abroad, in Kenya or even outside Africa, and rarely, if ever, participate in legislative work. Yet they collect salaries far beyond what most Somalis could dream of earning. And in 2023 they voted to increase their salaries! Somali writer Yasin Ahmed has a name for them – the “dream men”. They’ve figured out a way to receive what everyone wants: a passive income with no effort. The bitter irony? Somalia remains heavily dependent on foreign aid for its budget. Sixty per cent is funded by external donors, and nearly a quarter of the country’s total income comes from foreign assistance. In effect, much of the country’s government salaries are paid with money intended for Somalia’s poorest, but ends up on the pocket of a political cartel.

Identity: Does Somalia have a national identity for National IDs to be rolled out?

Big changes are on the way for citizens in Somalia. Starting 1 September 2025, anyone applying for a passport will first need a national ID card. And from 1 January 2026, the rule will extend to domestic travel as well. The announcement came after a meeting in Mogadishu chaired by internal security minister, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, with both the Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA) and the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) on board. In April this year, the Somali prime minister Hamza Abdi Barre said: “All government agencies and service providers are required to condition NID for service access.” The push for a single ID system isn’t new. The national ID process started in 2017, when the then federal government began replacing the complicated patchwork of ID systems that were causing trouble for remittances and global banking compliance. Support rolled in — $10.3 million from Pakistan and technical expertise from the World Bank. Parliament then passed Law No. 41 in 2020, setting up an authority (then called DADSOM) to collect biometric data and issue IDs to citizens. The post-2022 government refined that law, rebranding the agency as NIRA.

The idea sounds neat on paper, but politics and identity might be the real roadblocks. In an attempt to sketch the contours of what it means to be Somali, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud remarked back in 2023: “The fact that an individual shares our skin colour and speaks the Somali language does not in itself establish Somali nationality.” He added that people who look and sound Somali “reside alongside us” but that “conclusive proof must be obtained” to confirm Somali nationality. The broader question concerns the criteria by which Somali identity is defined. Conventional Somali understanding frames Somali identity through the prisms of shared culture, language, and religion, while foregrounding the impact of colonial fragmentation. However, any attempt to delineate this identity is inherently fraught, as it intersects with contested historical legacies as well as ongoing political frictions. Somaliland for example, won’t recognise its legitimacy, whilst Puntland, which has already rolled out its own separate ID card system — a move the federal government strongly condemned.

Across the gees

• Justice Julia Sebutinde, a Ugandan judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), faced intense criticism for being the sole dissenter in a January 2024 ruling directing Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza. Uganda even publicly distanced itself from her decision, with its UN permanent representative clarifying that her ruling did not reflect the “Government of Uganda’s position”. Breaking her silence on what likely motivated her at a church event in Uganda, Sebutinde said she felt divinely guided to support Israel, lamenting that “the whole world was against Israel, including my country.” Sebutinde framed the Gaza conflict as a sign of the biblical “End Times,” urging Christians to follow events in Israel. She expressed feeling "humbled" that God allowed her to participate in these “last days.”

• We continue to see reports of East African countries entering negotiations with Israel to host Palestinians it seeks to forcibly remove from Gaza. The latest this week was South Sudan which quickly denied the report in AP. Later CNN reported that Israel had entered into negotiations with South Sudan, Somaliland, Ethiopia and Libya. Ethiopia has remained silent on the issue; Libya has declared it would never support such a policy; while Somaliland has indicated a willingness to discuss it. The policy would represent a historic breach of international law, and the international community is overwhelmingly opposed. What remains unclear is why the leaks persist and are repeatedly denied by states unwilling to take part in a scheme to remove Palestinians from their land.

• El Fasher, a city in western Sudan, in the Darfur region is being starved by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces which are enforcing siege. Children are “skin and bones”, people are eating animal feed and those who escape are tormented and sometimes killed. Now, 30 countries—mainly European—have called for a “halt to the siege” and a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid into the city. At least 60 people have died of hunger this week, the statement said. “This cannot continue.”

Africa

• Africa is often misrepresented on maps, appearing much smaller than it is. The African Union is now joining calls for global mapping standards to be updated to reflect the continent’s true scale. The commonly used Mercator map, created in the 16th century, distorts landmasses—shrinking Africa while enlarging regions farther from the equator. “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” said AU Commission deputy chair Selma Malika Haddadi, arguing it falsely portrays Africa as “marginal.” In truth, Africa is large enough to fit India, China, and the United States—with room to spare…

Tangent

• This week on Tangents, we think you guys should check out this interview on Middle East Eye’s Unapologetic, in which Ashfaaq Carim interviewed the renowned scholar of modern Islamic movements, John Esposito. They discussed “Political Islam’s 120-year story - from anti-colonial struggle to now”. It critically engages with the roots of these movements, their ideas and their shortcomings.

If you liked this please subscribe and share with your friends and family! For more in-depth and interesting coverage of East Africa, visit our website and nabad gelyo: https://www.geeska.com/en.

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Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

Large fires have been a challenging issue for Somalis — from the Waheen market in Hargeisa in 2022 to Bakara market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2017. We saw this again at Suuq Bacaad, Mogadishu’s second-largest open market, earlier this week, where a huge overnight fire reduced dozens of business stalls to smouldering ash. One person was killed. It’s not yet clear what triggered the fire, but Somali MP Yasin Farey has suggested there may be grounds to suspect arson. “Given the speed and spread, I believe this was no accident,” he said. “We need a full investigation.” Banadir governor, Hassan Muungaab, said the incident should serve as a turning point for fire safety in the city’s markets.

Migori County MP Fatuma Mohammed set Kenya’s parliament more figuratively ablaze with an emotive speech on the situation in Gaza. “I want to warn those who support such oppression,” she said, “that God is watching.” She added: “You might be so strong, but you can’t be stronger than God. You might have all the weapons in this world, but God will only show a finger and you’ll be doomed.”

Elsewhere, 15-year-old swimmer Mustafa Hashim joins last week’s firsts by becoming the first athlete to represent Somalia at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Hashim chose to represent Somalia after reaching out to the Somali Swimming Federation. “I believe my story can inspire others from underrepresented nations and show that athletes from any background with the right mindset can break through at the highest level,” he said. Somalis had another moment in the sun this week when popular TikTok singer Uwe Baltner sang Somali Udiida Ceb (“Somalia, don’t shame yourself”) by legendary artist Maryam Mursal. He actually does a pretty good job. He has done covers of loads of Somali songs across genres, from more familiar songs like Suldaan Seerar’s Iftiinki Xamar Xamar Bila and UK rapper Skore Beezy’s Beef With The Malis.

That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week. It’s all about space this week, as Elon Musk announces that Starlink is now available in Somalia; the Boston Consulting Group modelled ethnically cleansing Palestinians to Somaliland and Somalia; Türkiye has begun constructing a spaceport north of Mogadishu; Trump has shed a bit of light on his dealings with Somaliland — and much more.

Middle East: Boston Consulting Group models ethnically cleansing Palestinians in Gaza to Somalia and Somaliland

On Thursday, the Financial Times revealed that a modelling project by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identified both Somalia and Somaliland as potential destinations for Palestinians who would be ethnically cleansed from Gaza. The plan comes after Donald Trump’s announcement earlier this year that he wanted to “just clean out” to make space for a riviera. You’ll remember that bizarre video he released with his vision for the besieged Strip:

The model also included the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan as possible destinations, but there have been noises for months that the Trump administration has been attempting to enlist the Somali government and Somaliland, among other countries in Africa. Somalia immediately rejected a report in March by the AP about a possible plan to relocate Palestinians there. Somaliland said it hadn’t engaged in talks but fell short of rejecting the idea in principle. In a statement to Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, Somaliland’s foreign minister Abdirahman Dahir said: “The most important thing for us is recognition.” He added: “We are open to discussion on any matter. All countries that are interested in discussing certain issues with us must first establish working relations and open diplomatic missions in Somaliland.”

Politics: US “working on” Somaliland issue, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said his country was “working on” the Somaliland issue in a surprise revelation on Friday during a press conference alongside Azerbaijan’s president and Armenia’s prime minister. It is the first time the US president has addressed the issue amid long-simmering rumours about whether the US could break with its “One Somalia” policy and enhance cooperation with or even recognise Somaliland. Trump said it was a “complex one”, adding that the US was “looking into that”. He didn’t, unfortunately, give any more of an indication of what he’s thinking. The statement follows the offer of a US military base by Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), last week in an interview with Bloomberg which didn’t get a response. The Financial Times reported this week that US officials have held talks with Somaliland about such a deal.

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Hargeisa has been lobbying Washington since 2022, when Muse Bihi was president, presenting itself as a reliable partner for enhanced US engagement. This has won it friends in Washington — from Republican Senate foreign affairs committee chair, James Risch, to Democrat Chris Van Hollen — as well as support from think tanks like the Hudson Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Risch and Van Hollen were co-sponsors of the Somaliland Partnership Act, which called for a feasibility study on deeper diplomatic and security engagement with Somaliland, but which eventually fizzled out. However, the US has signalled ambivalence until now about going futher. According to the Financial Times, the US has or is undertaking a review of its Somalia policy and Hargeisa has sensed an opportunity. But in April, the State Department’s Africa Media Hub posted: “Our intention is to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations. Not just one, but all nations.” It is difficult to predict what this statement will mean. There are rumours that Irro will visit Washington. One thing we can be certain of is that the Somaliland issue has definitely reached the president’s desk.

Connectivity: Starlink officially launches in Somalia

In April this year, the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Somalia approved a licence to Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to operate within the country. This week, Starlink announced that its service is now available in Somalia. Somalia’s ambassador to the US welcomed the development in a post on X: “Somalia welcomes @Starlink’s initiative to expand connectivity across the country.” He likely had a hand in arranging it, meeting Michaela Pawlak, a SpaceX official, in November. The Africa Report speculated that this was part of a broader effort to lobby the Trump administration — back when Musk was in its good graces — against recognising Somaliland, which has reportedly made inroads with Trump.

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Somalia has long been recognised for its competitively priced internet. At one point, the country was ranked 7th globally and 1st in Africa for the cheapest average cost per 1GB of data. The Spectator, a British magazine, even ran a piece comparing Manchester’s phone reception with Mogadishu’s. This affordability has been largely driven by Somalia’s fully privatised telecom sector, which has succeeded in delivering internet access across the country. However, Elon Musk’s post about the service’s availability in Somalia drew over 13,000 comments, with a remarkable share of racist reactions, some from prominent far-right figures. Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, known for his relentless racism against Somalis, responded to Musk’s post with his usual uncanny: “No dear God please no.”

Infrastructure: Türkiye is building Africa’s first spaceport in Somalia

Yes you read that right. Türkiye is taking a big leap in space tech with plans to build a spaceport on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast. Led by the Turkish Space Agency, the 900-square-kilometre site will handle satellite launches, test next-generation missile systems and could be used to achieve a moon landing, according TRT Afrika, the Turkish public broadcaster’s Africa website. If all goes to plan, it will be the first orbital launch site on the African continent. Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, confirmed that construction is already underway, saying the project will bring serious “investment, innovation, and jobs.” He added: “Seeing a satellite launched from Somalia is worth more than a few billion dollars.” The plan was first reported by Middle East Eye’s Ragip Soylu in 2021.

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Türkiye and Somalia have been deepening their ties since 2011 across a range of fields, from security to education. Türkiye has its largest overseas embassy in Mogadishu and operates a large military training facility for the Somali army. Last year, the two countries strengthened their ties with a defence cooperation agreement and a separate hydrocarbons exploration agreement. Whilst Somalis generally look favourably upon the relationship with Türkiye, prominent critics have emerged in recent years, raising concerns about the asymmetries that characterise the bilateral ties — including Somali senator and academic, Abdi Ismail Samatar. Addressing the swathe of agreements which he dubbed “neo-colonial” in a post on X, he said: “Somalis and their genuine well-wishers are deeply concerned about Türkiye’s evolving role in the country.” Ismail Osman, a former deputy spy chief, described Samatar’s post as “false and dangerous”, defending the relationship as one based on brotherhood and shared interests.

Politics: Ethiopia’s new ambassador to Somalia causes a stir

Ethiopia has appointed Suleiman Dedefo as its new ambassador to Somalia — and the choice has caused a stir online, as Somalis have trawled through his old tweets to find content that should likely be of interest to officials in Mogadishu. Dedefo has expressed strong an unqualified support for Somaliland’s independence from Somalia. In January, he shared an article headlined: “It is Time for the World to Recognize Somaliland”. Five days later, he was revisiting historical issues, arguing that Somaliland never truly joined Somalia. He even accused Somalia of “air piracy” following an airspace dispute involving Somaliland — and there’s more which remain online. Granted, many of the tweets were posted following the fallout from the memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland last year, when Somalia and Ethiopia had a major diplomatic rift — but that context hasn’t earned him any clemency.

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Former security minister Abdirisak Mohamed called Dedefo’s appointment a “public embarrassment,” accusing the government of failing to vet diplomats. Adam Aw Hirsi, director of the Mogadishu-based thinktank, Foresight for Practical Solutions, quote tweeted Mohamed reminding him that a key provision of the Ankara Declaration which ended the diplomatic dispute between the countries was to “to forgo and leave behind differences and contentious issues and forge ahead in a cooperative manner to pursue shared prosperity.”

Across the gees

• A city in Sudan’s Darfur region is being starved by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), affecting more than 700,000 people. El Fasher, in North Darfur—the largest city in the region still held by pro-government forces—has been “asphyxiated under siege” for more than a year, according to Sudanese journalist Eiad Husham. Aid agencies say they have been denied entry by the RSF, which has surrounded the city. UNICEF Sudan representative Sheldon Yett has said children have been reduced to “skin and bones”, as footage has circulated online showing women praying and people being forced to gather animal feed to survive. This week, Sky News journalist Yousra Elbagir obtained rare footage from inside the city.

• Staying with Sudan, the government there has accused the UAE of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in the country’s two-year civil war. The allegation comes as Columbian news website La Silla Vacía published images which it said it obtained from another Columbian mercenary near the South Darfur city of Nyala, in western Sudan, as they trained recruits. Some were as young as 12, the mercenary said. Separately, The Telegraph also reported that Colombian troops were present in the Zamzam refugee camp. A spokesperson at the camp told Sudan Tribune that the camp’s security was handed over to the RSF. Clips and images of Spanish-speaking white soldiers in Sudan have been circulating for months. Columbia’s president, Gustavo Petro, said he requested a bill prohibiting “mercenary activities” and has instructed his ambassador in Cairo to investigate how many Columbians have been killed in Sudan. The UAE issued a statement dismissing its alleged involvement in the conflict as “baseless”.

• A UK court will release the names and addresses of British soldiers who fathered children while deployed in Kenya to the affected children. The ruling follows an investigation by The Times last year, which located Kenyan women who said they had children with British soldiers. The case concerns 11 children who lived with their mothers near a British Army barracks in central Kenya. UK soldiers have been linked to a series of scandals in Kenya, including allegations of rape and even murder.

Africa

• We like to cast the net wide in our Africa section, but there was a major development in Ethiopia, where a court handed down a rare death sentence for human trafficking. Five individuals were convicted of smuggling people along the eastern route across the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf. The ruling comes just a week after a boat capsized in the Red Sea with around 150 people on board, 76 confirmed dead and 74 missing, according to the UN. The year 2024 was the deadliest on record for people on migration routes, with an estimated 8,938 lives lost. The trend has risen sharply since 2020, when 3,330 people lost their lives.

Tangents

• Omar Arten, the acclaimed Somali referee, sat down with content creator Somali Gamer to share his inspiring journey. It’s a lengthy listen in Somali on the streaming platform Kick, but a fascinating story, including a section on why it’s important for Somalis in the diaspora to represent the national team. (Link here.)

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Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

We’re diving in fork-first this issue: Somali rice or Jamaican rice? The issue was adjudicated on the Abti Podcast this week in a clip that’s clocked good numbers. The verdict there: bariis and hilib beats rice and peas. There was a diplomat in the comments section, though, who tried to bridge the divide: “Somali rice with some jerk chicken on top”. In other things Somalis are doing well: Abdi Mohamed Sabriye scored a banger in his team, Kalmar FF’s, season opener against Utsiktens BK in the second tier of Swedish football. He also popped up on Somali Athlete’s socials, where he listed his dream picks for a Somali national team — including Taha Ali, whose own highlight reel went viral a few months back. The outgoing Swedish ambassador, Joachim Waern, was so impressed he quote-tweeted the post with: “Taha Alis, of Somali origin. What a player! 🇸🇴🔥🇸🇪”. Are Scandinavian Somalis the most successful Somali footballers?

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Staying on the diaspora tip before we exit the qurbajoog portion of the newsletter: Omar Fateh, the Somali-American candidate running a historic campaign to become mayor of Minneapolis, popped up on Reverend Al Sharpton’s PoliticsNation on MSNBC this week. “We need leadership that is rooted in both compassion and justice — not just performative politics,” he told Sharpton. He’s running on an unabashedly socialist platform, and we bid him the best. We’ve covered the abuse he’s faced in our last issue.

On the home front: a genuinely fascinating film — which neither of us had seen before — surfaced on X this week. It’s called Farxiya, and it tells the story of a Somali man, Sharif, who was studying in Leningrad, in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, back when Somalia and the USSR were still cool. But things fall apart when Moscow sides against Somalia during the Ethiopia war in 1977, and Sharif’s life gets upended by the geopolitical chaos and he faces deportation. It threatens to separate him from his Russian wife — and, crucially, their daughter. The film is written and directed by Somali-Norwegian filmmaker Badrudin Ga’ur. It is apparently based on a true story. Many Somalis know at least one (potentially Russian-speaking) Somali elder who studied in the Soviet Union. If you want to dive deeper the stories of Somali students in USSR, Lyubov V. Ivanova wrote about it for Bildhaan. Another bit of history related to the period also came up this week in Mogadishu. Dalsan TV claim to have found Siad Barre’s car; the Fiat Regata once owned by Somalia’s military ruler whose government collapsed in 1991. Apparently, it’s changed hands a bunch of times since then and is now in pretty shabby condition.

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That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week. We’re looking at the revival of the national carrier; the resignation of the Somali president’s national security adviser; the formation of another new federal state in Somalia, and more.

Society: Somalia announces the revival of its national carrier after a three-decade hiatus

Somalia has announced the revival of its national carrier, Somali Airlines, after a 30-year hiatus. Transport minister Mohamed Farah confirmed a deal with Lema Air Group to acquire two Airbus A320s, aiming to launch commercial flights “within two months.” Farah said this is just the first phase of a phased purchase plan, adding that it will create jobs, restore dignity, and serve the large Somali community that frequently travels in and out of the country. However, the announcement raised many questions. Farah gave no details on the deal’s cost or funding. Observers are especially concerned about the lack of transparency around Lema Air Group and the timing.

Veteran journalist Harun Maruf posted on X: “Information about the Lema Air Group and its history in aviation has not been provided.” Samira Gaid, a security analyst sharply critical of the government’s failures amid more towns falling to al-Shabaab this year, said: “I'm convinced we all collectively suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome.” East Africa analyst Rashid Abdi went further, saying it was a “deal that stinks to the high heavens.” It “smells like a getaway heist”, he added.

Security: Somali security chief sacked as al-Shabaab overruns towns

Hussein Sheikh Ali (Macalin), the long-serving national security advisor to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has stepped down. Appointed in 2022, his resignation came without an official announcement, though he has updated is X profile: “Former National Security Adviser of Somalia”. His departure comes as government forces continue to face severe setbacks in south and central Somalia. Al-Shabaab has made major gains in recent months since launching its Ramadan Offensive, particularly in the Hiraan region of Hirshabelle state, where it recaptured Moqokori, and, more significantly, seized Mahaas — a town under government for over 12 years. Since June, more than 60,000 people have been displaced in the Hiiraan region, where the fighting has been concentrated. The loss is seen as both symbolic and strategic. Following the fall, the Institute of War Studies said: “The group reconnected its territory in central Somalia and southern Somalia for the first time since 2022 in March.” Below is a good map.

Although President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came to power emphasising the need to negotiate with al-Shabaab, fighting the group was also one of his marquee commitments, declaring “total war” — and he began with considerable momentum. Much of that, however, has now been rolled back. Samira Gaid, a prominent security analyst, attributed the failings to divisions over the Somali president’s contested constitutional changes related to the way elections are held, which have unleashed a “political storm.” The changes have divided the Somali elite and signalled that the fight against al-Shabaab has been “deprioritized” by the government. “The dominoes are falling, yet we continue to chase lofty illusions as the country unravels at its seams,” Gaid posted on X. Meanwhile, in an interview with Al-Araby al-Jadeed this week, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs insisted al-Shabaab is “beginning to weaken and decline”.

Politics: SSC-Khaatumo becomes the North Eastern State

After two weeks of consultations, the newly rebranded North Eastern State of Somalia (Waqooyi Bari in Somali) — formerly SSC-Khaatumo — has been officially established, claiming the Sool and Sanaag regions. Political momentum for the project gathered pace in 2023, when Somaliland forces were expelled from the eastern city of Las Anod. The new state carves out territory claimed by Puntland, which operates autonomously from the Somali government, and Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991. Somaliland claims the old colonial boundary; Puntland, genealogical ties to local clans; and the North Eastern State, a mix of federal government fiat and genealogy. Both Somaliland and Puntland, which control parts of Sanaag, have rejected the move and have expressed no desire to forfeit the land. Puntland’s vice president, Ilyas Lugatoor, for example, visited a remote part of Sool this week, where he said that the region remains part of it and called for dialogue. The declaration ushers in a new, more complex period in the politics of the north.

The administration will include clans from the Sool and Sanaag regions, though the Warsangeli clan’s elders in the Sanaag region have previously distanced themselves from the process. Despite this, over 417 representatives took part, according to Somalia’s state news agency. Las Anod was named the capital, with Laasqoray as a secondary capital. A new constitution was ratified, and technical committees were formed to begin electoral planning and set up an 83-member parliament. The presidency will rotate every five years between the Dhulbahante and Warsangeli clans.

Aid: Deadly protests breakout at Kakuma refugee camp

Violent unrest has rocked Kakuma, one of the Horn of Africa’s largest refugee camps hosting people from South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and other regional countries, leaving one refugee dead and two police officers injured. Protests, fuelled by anger over shrinking food rations and Kenyan government plans to turn the camp into a permanent settlement, escalated into clashes with security forces and the torching of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) storage facility. A new aid system prioritising only the “worst-off” for full support has left many feeling excluded and discriminated against. Melissa Chemam, a journalist at Radio France Internationale, pointed to a study on a 20% aid cut in 2023, which found it affected people in Kakuma in multiple ways — from household consumption and food security to psychological well-being.

At the heart of the crisis is a sharp drop in humanitarian funding. The US, long the world’s biggest donor, has cut billions from global aid in 2025, cancelling 83% of its foreign assistance contracts. Other donors, including the UK, have also scaled back aid, calling it the “new normal”. Humanitarian agencies such as UNHCR had warned of the fallout, estimating nearly 12 million refugees globally are now at risk due to dwindling support.

Politics: Somali officials slam govt over public land sales

Recent posts from Somali officials have sparked concern over the alleged sale of public land in Mogadishu. Mursal Khaliif, a Somali MP, quote-tweeted a post claiming that land belonging to Laansareti Hospital — a public asset — had been sold to private individuals, describing it as “Daylight robbery”. In a strongly worded post on X, Khaliif wrote: “From hospitals, to IDP residences, to schools and mosques — no place is safe from HSM.” Another striking intervention came from prominent Somali scholar and senator Abdi Samatar, who reported a case about poor families who had been displaced near the Boondhere monument in the central-northern part of Mogadishu. “The ultimate measure of leaders is how they treat the indigent and most vulnerable members of a community,” adding that the current leadership is destined for “the trash can of history.”

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Following the collapse of the Somali state in the early 1990s, impoverished families in the capital took up residence in some abandoned or derelict public properties. The state has struggled to reclaim the land, or do anything with it itself due to budget constraints. Allegations of public land being sold off have circulated since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud returned to office in 2022. The Laansareti Hospital land acquisition is reportedly being redeveloped as a “public-private partnership hospital” after the health ministry failed to secure donor funding for a fully public facility. A report by Somali broadcast channel Universal TV confirmed that significant parcels of public land have been transferred to private companies. In a joint letter dated January, former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former PM Hassan Ali Khaire, and opposition figure Abdirahman Abdishakur raised similar concerns. “Most of the land is being sold off through auctions to private businesspeople, while some portions are granted to specific families, and others are used to bribe politicians,” they said.

Across the gees

• The Middle East Eye reports that the Egyptian presidency pressured Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of al-Azhar — one of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious institutions — to remove a strongly worded statement condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza and anyone complicit in it. The report cites anonymous Egyptian government sources. Here is a part of the original readout: “anyone who supplies this entity with weapons, or who emboldens it through complicit resolutions or hypocritical words, is a partner in this act of genocide”. Al-Azhar later said it removed the statement from social media to avoid undermining ongoing negotiations to end the genocide in Gaza.

• The Tasis Alliance, a bloc of Sudanese armed groups that includes the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has announced a long-anticipated but widely condemned parallel government. Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, will lead the 15-member Presidential Council of the new government. Many fear the move could splinter the Sudanese state and lead to a Libya-style situation, with competing authorities in the east and west. Several major Sudanese parties, Arab countries and the African Union have rejected the announcement. The announcement came ahead of planned peace talks in Washington between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt — talks which have since been called off.

• Ethiopia’s birr has hit an all-time low of 174 to the dollar on the unofficial market, prompting the central bank to allocate $121 million in foreign exchange. The official rate set by the National Bank of Ethiopia remains at 135 birr to the dollar. The currency has struggled since PM Abiy Ahmed floated it last July in a bid to attract investors and IMF funding. It lost 30% of its value on the first day and 100% in ten days. When Abiy was re-elected in 2019, the Ethiopian Birr was valued at 30 to the dollar. The drop has sparked a major cost-of-living crisis, triggered doctors’ strikes, and caused a surge in inflation. The country has climbed to fourth place on economist Steve Hanke’s inflation dashboard.

Africa

• France’s West Africa minister has said that the security of the Sahelian states — which have expelled French forces in recent years and are now struggling against al-Qaeda and ISIS-linked armed groups — are no longer Paris’s problem. When asked about the situation, Thani Mohamed-Soilihi told Reuters: “I’m sorry to say, but it no longer concerns us.” The message comes after years of setbacks for France in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — all now ruled by sovereigntist, pro-Russian military governments. France ended its military presence in the Sahel earlier this year when it withdrew from Chad, and left Senegal in July — leaving Paris with no permanent military presence in Central or West Africa. It retains a base in Djibouti, its last in Africa.

Tangent

• We think everyone should watch the film Farxiya. It’s a very short film, but it offers a glimpse into a world you’ve likely never encountered before. You can watch it here.

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Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

That tired old debate about whether Somalis are being “Arabised” flared up again this week – all thanks to a TikTok by a guy called Zehn Ali. In the clip, he rattles off three reasons: Arab culture is apparently the blueprint, the Somali language is (allegedly) on life support, and Somalis are cosplaying as Arabs not truly understanding what they’re saying often or doing. The video got a lot of traction on X after it migrated there. The irony of announcing the death of the Somali language in an English-language video was not lost on Ibrahim Hirsi, a Somali poet and writer who is currently exploring the topic in Journal Gobanimo through the question of clothing. The Somali language is “alive and kicking”, Hirsi posted. After he went viral, Zehn posted a clarification, pointing out that he was asking where the line lay “between Islam and Arab culture”. The issue is a sensitive one, as Somalis do import a great deal of culture from the Middle East which enriches the Somali life — from sartorial choices to literature, religious ideas, films, food, customs, and architectural styles. Somalia even joined the Arab League in 1974 and has a large diaspora from Egypt to the UAE and all in between. It is an intimate and historical relationship which Somalis appreciate and even make fun of (great video here). But it occasionally triggers anxieties in some quarters that indigenous aspects of Somali culture are being jettisoned.

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Elsewhere in the connections between Somalis and Arabs, Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar met with Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who became a political prisoner after the Trump administration had ICE detain him for his advocacy against the genocide in Gaza. In a post on X, Omar said: “People across the country are facing consequences simply for standing up against a genocide and that should concern all of us.” Concern about the situation in Gaza has grown over recent weeks, even among the last holdouts of Israeli support in the US and the UK. The Guardian described Israel’s actions as genocide, and The New York Times ran a piece by genocide scholar Omar Bartov (here) in which he explained why he thinks Israel is committing genocide. They then chickened out and published a rebuttal of Bartov’s assessment by their columnist Bret Stephens, who basically argued that Israel could be killing far more people (!). Duty of care before we share his piece; Stephens doesn’t have the credentials to make this call. (Read here)

TRT Afrika is reporting that the Somali Football Federation has launched an intensive training course for female Somali referees. Jawahir Roble, a British-Somali referee, has already broken ground there. On the topic of sporting firsts, Abdirahman Hassan became the first Somali rower to compete in a world championship at the Under 23 level. He appeared in a super viral video on YouTuber Max Klymenko’s channel this week. Watch him compete below from 42.50 minutes:

Munira Maalimisaq, a Somali nurse, appeared on the EatandTalk MN podcast, where she said that an omertà among Somali men around sex-related issues is causing harm. The clip went viral on TikTok and Munira has helpful advice. Quick segue; Somali Redditors are discussing their favourite Somali dishes (here). And if you’ve ever worried about your ability to learn another language, this white guy’s impressive Somali might just inspire you.

That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week: the West is apparently losing hope in Somalia; Omar Fateh is the Democrat nominee for the Minneapolis mayoral race; and Puntland has seized a vessel carrying weapons for the federal government — though it isn’t entirely clear why.

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Politics: Puntland seizes arms shipment heading to Mogadishu

This week, the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) intercepted the MV Sea World, a ship carrying weapons and armoured vehicles off the coast of Bareeda, Ras Caseyr destined for Mogadishu. The ship’s cargo was intended for a Turkish military training facility in the capital, according to the federal government, which issued a statement on the incident after nearly a week of silence, accusing Puntland of “hijacking” the vessel. Puntland, a federal state, isn’t constitutionally responsible for national defence policy, but it is entirely autonomous from the central government. Puntland rejected the characterisation, stating that the ship had been loitering off its coast for two days; that the federal government hadn’t claimed it; and called for a joint investigation with Turkey and the federal government.

The ship remains in Puntland’s hands a week on, but several competing claims have emerged and the lack of transparency on the issue hasn’t helped. Puntland says the vessel was flagged to Somaliland, while the federal government says it was registered under Comoros. Puntland says it was carrying no commercial goods—only weapons—which the federal government also denies. At the moment we’re at least somewhat clear on who it belongs to. The Somali government has said the shipment was intended for Camp TurkSom, the Turkish training academy for Somali soldiers. Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, a former Somali prime minister, said he met with the Turkish ambassador in Mogadishu, Alper Aktaş, who confirmed this.

The seizure of the MV Sea World has further unsettled an already turbulent Somali political scene this week, underscoring the new nadir reached in relations between Puntland and the federal government. Views on the incident and its aftermath have been plentiful. Somaliland’s foreign minister, Abdirahman Dahir Adam, said the international community needs to “urgently re-evaluate” the lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia. Fahad Yasin, the former powerful spy chief, said the incident demonstrates that Said Deni, Puntland’s president and a presidential candidate in the upcoming election, has “no respect” for the government he aims to lead. Abdirizak Mohamed, an MP and former security minister, said the seizure shows that Somalia’s is in the “gutter” and resembles George Orwell’s Animal Farm. “Not abiding the rule of law has become the prevailing trait between people on the echelon of leadership.” Mursal Khaliif, also an MP and member of the defence committee quoted tweeted him and added: “Wondering who would fit characters of Old Major, prize winning boar, or Napoleon, manipulative leader, in our context!” Share you thoughts in the comments.

Politics: Somaliland foreign minister in Taipei

This week, Somaliland’s foreign minister, Abdirahman Adam, accompanied by Naval Commander, Hurre Haarie, arrived in Taiwan for an official visit, signalling another leap in the budding alliance between the two unrecognised states. The trip follows the official unveiling of Taiwan Avenue in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital—a road connecting the airport to the city. The two states signed a maritime cooperation agreement. In a post on X, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said: “With shared democratic values, our ever deepening relationship now includes a new Coast Guard cooperation agreement.”

The relationship between Hargeisa and Taipei dates back to 2020, when they decided to establish ties. Taiwan has made efforts to boost its visibility in Somaliland by offering scholarships to military officers, funding a healthcare centre, and signing an energy agreement. China has said it opposes contacts between Somaliland and Taiwan and has boosted its relations with Somalia’s federal government.

Diaspora: Omar Fateh wins Democrat endorsement for mayor

Minnesota state senator Omar Fateh hit a major milestone in his mayoral campaign by securing the endorsement of the Minneapolis Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). Several newspapers likened Fateh and Zohran Mamdani, a New York socialist who won the Democratic nomination there. Matt Walsh, the right-wing commentator, is speaking about how “Minneapolis has turned into Somalia”. The endorsement gives Fateh a boost in what’s shaping up to be a competitive race, positioning him as the progressive frontrunner against incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey. In response to the endorsement, Frey, who lost out on the ticket to Fateh posted on X: “This election should be decided by our entire city, not by a handful of delegates.”

Fateh, son of Somali immigrants, was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Virginia. He earned his master’s degree in public administration at George Mason University, spending summers in Minneapolis, a Somali hub in the US, before eventually settling there. He rose to political prominence in 2020 after unseating longtime senator Jeff Hayden. In 2022, senator Fateh was cleared of serious ethics allegations (quid pro quo and ballot fraud) but was sanctioned with mandatory campaign finance training for failing to disclose a $1,000 advertising payment. Now, as he seeks to become the city’s first Somali and Muslim mayor, Fateh has once again become a target of racist attacks from right-wing MAGA supporters. We covered these ongoing racist attacks in last week’s issue. Still, the DFL endorsement has sparked a wave of cheeky posts online. “Somali mayor in Minneapolis, Ugandan mayor in New York—now we just need an Ethiopian mayor in DC to complete the East African takeover of U.S. politics,” @dylanali_ joked. “There is no Somali diaspora doing it like the Somali Minnesotan diaspora. The domination continues,” Somali writer Najma Sharif said.

Politics: Somali PM appeals to diaspora as UK MPs back Somaliland independence

Somalia’s prime minister, Hamza Barre, has called on the UK’s Somali community to raise their voices as a growing number of British MPs advocate for recognition of Somaliland’s independence. “We need you to use your voice and your votes to defend your country and its unity,” Barre said. Somaliland’s spokesperson, Hussein Deyr, hit back, describing Barre’s appeal as a “desperate reaction”.

The Somali diaspora is complex, but the UK has a large community of people originating from present-day Somaliland, who have been lobbying and appealing to British MPs to push ahead with recognising Somaliland. These include senior Tories such as Gavin Williamson, who was given an honorary Somaliland passport, Lord Edward Udny-Lister, and Labour figures including the British-Yemeni MP Abtisam Mohamed, Baroness Catharine Letitia Hoey and Kim Johnson. Many of them were at a recent All-party parliamentary group, where a report was published detailing a strategy for Somaliland’s recognition. In 2022, the issue was debated in parliament after Gavin Williamson put forward a motion during an adjournment debate, which was dismissed by the UK’s Minister for Africa at the time, Vicky Ford. “It is for SL and the Federal Government of Somalia to decide their future,” she wrote on X. Rory Stewart, co-host of The Rest is Politics podcast and a former Tory minister, explained why the UK is unlikely to act on the issue when fielding a question from British-Somali journalist Rageh Omar. Stewart said he himself was “sympathetic” but added the UK would likely be worried about the risks involved in such a move, including fuelling conflicts there. Fighting broke out in the Sool region in early 2023, resulting in Somaliland losing control of the eastern city of Las Anod. The city has since declared a separate unionist administration known as SSC-Khaatumo (SSC-K).

Big picture: Is the West turning its back on Somalia?

Two recent reports by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and The Economist suggest that Somalia’s Western backers are losing patience with the government’s poor track record, despite the exorbitant sums being outlaid to keep it afloat. A Western diplomat speaking anonymously to AFP said there is “donor fatigue” with Somalia, referring to the country’s persistent reliance on aid to function. Security failures have had a similar impact, the diplomat added: “People are asking: ‘What have we bought for the last 10 years?’ Seeing the army run away and having (to create) AUSSOM was really hard for people”. Similarly, The Economist’s Africa correspondent, Tom Gardner reported that that Somalia’s state-building is “in tatters”, referring to the deep issues between the federal government and some federal member states.

Whilst Ali Mohamed Omar, a foreign affairs minister, dismissed the tensions mentioned in the report as not unusual, the bigger picture is one in which the international community is less generous, and Somalia has yet to build its own capacity to fund government operations (crucially security). The government is aware of the problem and we covered that here. The politicking between Somali elites appears futile amid such a daunting backdrop, though. While it is unlikely that the international community will abandon Somalia to al-Shabaab or IS-Somalia, we can be sure that “one of Africa’s most fragile states looks set to weaken further,” as Gardner writes.

Across the gees

• Eritrea’s reclusive president, Isaias Afwerki, emerges once a year to give his hot take on global, regional and local issues in an interview with the state channel, Eri-TV. They can be interesting. In this year’s instalment, he laid the blame for Sudan’s war on the UAE’s leader, Mohammed bin Zayed. “The UAE’s leader is at the forefront in this baffling scheme, which is also intertwined with the wider and elusive agenda of controlling virtually the constellation of ports from Suez all the way down to the Gulf of Aden and as far as Tanzania,” Afwerki said. The UAE has been widely accused of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against Sudan’s army — a claim it denies.

• Staying with Sudan, the Associated Press has attempted to tally the damage after three years of fighting. The figures are genuinely frightening: at least 40,000 people killed and over 10 million displaced; 9 million children out of school; 124 healthcare facilities impacted; more than 6,000 hectares of agricultural land lost; and 64 utility sites destroyed or damaged.

• RT’s Arabic service is reporting that the director general of Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance (Gerd) project, Aregawi Berhe, has said the country will build even more dams — a move likely to further antagonise Egypt. Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Berhe said: “We will not stop at just one dam; rather, we need dams that serve other purposes, including agriculture.” Cairo and Addis Ababa have been locked in a standoff over the issue, which Egypt says threatens its water security. Trump said last week that he would resolve the dispute but has stirred up more anger by repeatedly claiming the US funded the dam. Ethiopia isn’t happy about that.

Africa

• Benin is seeking to strengthen its ties with the African-American community by appointing filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee — a producer and author — as ambassadors to the US’s African-American population. The government says the move will help connect “people of African descent around the world to their historical, cultural, and spiritual roots.” Benin has a strong record of engaging with African-Americans; last year, it passed a law allowing anyone with an African ancestor who was taken during the slave trade to claim citizenship.

Tangents

This week, we bring you a conversation with Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine on SMWX, discussing his political journey, presidential candidacy, challenges to President Museveni, and his views on Julius Malema and the growing popularity of Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré.

If you liked this please subscribe and share with your friends and family! Nabad gelyo, and for more, visit our website: https://www.geeska.com/en

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Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!

It’s been a week of highs, lows, and oddities for Somalis online. We’ve just come across an account solely dedicated to posting AI-generated videos of Somalis behaving unusually. In one clip, an elderly woman, caught in the midst of the UK’s heatwave, says: “The UK sun is roasting me more than an angry Somali on Clubhouse during lockdown.” @fboogielivee, a Somali content producer best known for scandalising the British public by jamming outside Buckingham Palace, has now braided his hair. The popular YouTuber Speed was gifted a macawiis during his trip to Finland — an excellent opportunity to spotlight that sartorial staple of Somali manhood. The macawiis was handed over by Muhis Najat, another content creator and all-things-Somali enthusiast from Finland, whose TikTok is also an absolute riot. They did the dhaanto after, a traditional Somali folk dance.

Elsewhere it hasn’t been so jovial. A Somali man went viral on TikTok — and later on Twitter — after giving a tour of Small Heath, Birmingham, which was littered with rubbish. In the clip, he claimed the mess was due to the area’s high Muslim population. He wasn’t happy but he should probably read the news. Bin workers are also on strike there. His remarks likely had the backing of the same people harassing Omar Fateh, a Somali-American politician who has announced he’s running for mayor of Minneapolis. He’s been facing an online avalanche of xenophobic abuse. X user @hayxtt flagged the “specific kind of racism Somalis face”, describing it as a “brutal” mix between Islamophobia and anti-blackness. @RadioGenoa, home of fascist clickbait and moral panic about Muslims in the West, also posted a clip from a 2023 funeral for five Somali girls killed in a car crash, captioned: “It looks like Somalia but it’s America, Minnesota.” Another extreme-right wing account, @dissidentwest, used a statistic about the fertility of Somali women warning of an imminent takeover. Arthur Kwon Lee, an US-based artist, went as far as to claim Somalis “don’t have souls”. We’ve got no idea who he is either. While Fateh was attacked for being Somali, Ramla Ali, the British-Somali boxer, faced similar abuse for apparently not being Somali enough. She’s addressed her doubters on TikTok. “What are you if you aren’t Somali,” her mother responded touchingly.

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The team at Journal Gobanimo have released the second issue of their expansive magazine, themed “Power, Politics, and Belonging”. Their output is an excellent supplement for anyone seeking serious reading that more critically engages with what it means to be Somali today. We missed it last week, but British-Somali poet Momtaza Mehri’s book, Bad Diaspora Poems, was shortlisted by The Guardian as one of the best paperbacks for July. Check both those out. And wewantwraiths has just dropped Mob Style, with Swedish-Somali rapper Yasin. Somali writer Ayan Artan has this moving message for us: “the world is filled with art; go seek it out. don’t rely on these algorithms. buy random dvds at the charity shop and get a library card. art is the curing of callousness. your life will be better for it, i promise.”

Memory: Bloody Monday

This week marks the grim anniversary of Bloody Monday, also known as the “Abdi House raid” in Mogadishu on 12th July 1993. UN-backed American forces launched a helicopter missile strike on the home of Abdi Hassan Awale, now Somali senator (better known as Qaybdiid) killing around 70 people, according to Red Cross. The Somali-American journalist, Mohamed Gabobe, brought this to our attention.

Earlier that week, admiral Jonathan Howe, the then UN secretary-general’s special representative, had called for dialogue with the Somali National Alliance (SNA), led by Mohamed Farah Aidid. In response, Qaybdiid, a close ally of Aidid, recalled that they began organising a council to discuss the initiative at his house. In an interview with MM Somali TV in 2021 Qaybdiid said the meeting was attended by around 86 people, including clan elders, politicians, and scholars. As Qaybdiid began addressing the gathering, he recalled the sound of an aircraft overhead, followed by intense bombardment that killed many civilians. General Aidid’s popularity surged in the aftermath, and US credibility in Somalia was irreversibly damaged. Thomas Montgomery was the American commander responsible for the raid, and in an interview with PBS Frontline, he said the attack was the “most amount of force that we had used” in Mogadishu until then. He disputes the casualty figures, but it was widely seen as a turning point for Americans in Somalia, triggering hostilities that culminated in the Battle of Mogadishu. La Repubblica, a left-wing Italian daily, called the air strike “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”. The Standard, a Kenyan newspaper asked: “Who Are the Warlords Now?”

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Politics: Tensions continue rising in Sanaag

Fighting has erupted in the contested Sanaag region as Puntland forces clashed with local militias near Dhahar, displacing hundreds. The region is claimed by Puntland, Somaliland, and SSC-Khaatumo (SSC–K). While the precise trigger remains unclear, veteran journalist Harun Maruf reported tensions escalated after Puntland’s forces attempted to use a road in the area which locals objected to. Local clan elders blamed Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni and demanded the withdrawal of his troops. Puntland said the federal government, which wants the region placed under SSC-K, was “stirring up conflict”.

The clashes come amid growing competition between Puntland and SSC-K for control of Sanaag and the loyalty of the Warsangeli clan who reside there. The elites in both states have genealogical ties to the Warsangeli who appear divided on what to do. We covered that last week.

The crisis is further complicated by tensions between Deni and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, rooted in a rushed constitutional change last year and issues around the upcoming election where both are key contenders. Elites in Garowe fear the federal government’s backing of SSC-K is an attempt to “dismantle” Puntland and redistribute its parliamentary seats to groups likely to support the incumbent in an election (MPs elected the president in the prior electoral system). This concern is likely driving Puntland’s renewed claim that the entire SSC-K region belongs to it.

Politics: Everyone is launching a political party!

Since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration announced a return to a one person, one vote electoral system for the 2026 elections, Somalia has witnessed a surge in political party formation. Former planning minister Abdi Aynte, co-founder of the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, is the latest to launch a party, joining a growing roster—including former prime minister Abdi Farah Shirdon—who declared his party earlier this year. In May, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud started his Justice and Solidarity Party, cobbling together the governing elite. Over 40 parties have now been registered.

Somalia’s early electoral systems emerged before independence: Italian Somaliland adopted closed-list proportional representation in 1959, while British Somaliland used first-past-the-post in early 1960, Somali scholar Afyare Elmi writes. After unification, the Somali Republic adopted a nationwide PR system and expanded electoral districts. This incentivised the creation of numerous parties. But a 1968 electoral law introduced a threshold aimed at reducing the number of smaller parties, which had ballooned to around 60 in the late 1960s. Democracy came to an end with a military coup in 1969, and Somalis have not voted for their leaders since. This time the Somali government has restricted the number of parties allowed to contest national elections to three, like Somaliland and Puntland. The rest will have to watch or support those parties.

Diaspora: Omar Fateh the “Mamdani of Minneapolis”

Minnesota state senator Omar Fateh, a Somali American politician who has been dubbed the “Mamdani of Minneapolis” by Newsweek, has launched his campaign for mayor of Minneapolis and almost immediately became the target of a wave of racism and Islamophobia from far-right influencers. Notorious MAGA figures, including Charlie Kirk, posted “Muslims are commanded to take over the government” to stoke fear. Political analyst @OmarBaddar questioned how Kirk could “go from rightly insisting that antisemitism should have no place in America to propagating the most disgusting anti-Muslim bigotry.” Another influencer, @kate_p45, called for banning non–American-born citizens from holding office, ironically ignoring the fact that Fateh was born in the United States. She deleted her tweet. Even Sky News Australia had a segment on him. We’re also not sure what the fuck this has to do with them.

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Despite the vitriol, Fateh has also received strong support. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, whom Fateh is challenging, posted on X: “Senator Omar Fateh is a proud American,” adding, “I’m proud that Minneapolis is a place where he can run against me on his own merits.” Online, Somalis also rallied in solidarity following a week of anti-Somali xenophobia on the internet. Najma Sharif, a Somali writer said that Somalis are “architects of our own visibility” and “don’t allow people to write our story for us”. “The Somali-American diaspora is up next, that’s why the hate is getting louder,” she added. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), the US’s largest civil rights and Muslim advocacy organisation, condemned the “racist hate”.

Economy: Trump plans to tax remittances

The Trump administration has enacted a new US federal remittance tax of 1% as part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”. This tax will apply to all senders, regardless of their legal status in the US. In 2023 alone, remittances from the US to the Global South reached $656 billion, far surpassing foreign aid $224 billion. The tax is projected to cause a 1.6% decline in remittance flows. In Somalia, remittances are a lifeline. The Somali diaspora remits over $1.3 billion annually, with Somali-Americans contributing $215 million—nearly matching the US government’s entire 2012 humanitarian and development aid to Somalia – $242 million.

Across the gees

• Kenya has officially abolished visa requirements for the majority of Caribbean countries and all African countries — except Somalia and Libya — “due to security concerns”, the country’s cabinet has said. This policy was initially introduced back in January, placing Kenya alongside Rwanda, Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin as African nations willing to welcome all Africans. It is notoriously difficult for Africans to travel to other African countries.

• US President Donald Trump has said he is “working on” resolving Egypt’s dispute with Ethiopia over the latter’s project to build a large dam, calling it a “big problem” that was going to get “resolved”. At a press conference at the White House, Trump said: “If I am Egypt, I want to have water in the Nile. And we’re working on that one.” Trump, who during his first term said Egypt could bomb the dam, added that the Nile was a source of “life and income for Egypt, and to take that away is an incredible thing.” Trump, however wrongly claimed the dam was financed by the US government, which has irked the fact-checkers over at Addis Standard.

• Ethiopia’s intelligence service has announced the arrest of 82 suspected IS-Somalia members — the largest such roundup of alleged members of the group we know of. Authorities said the suspects were trained in the militant group’s East Africa hub in Puntland, where authorities are fighting them, and then crossed the border to carry out operations. Caleb Weiss, an expert on the group, posted: “Somewhat unsurprising given that Ethiopians were/are one of the largest contingents of the group and IS-Som has historically used Eth as a transport/logistics hub”.

Africa

• How long is too long at the helm of a country? Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, now 92 (and the world’s oldest head of state), is seeking his eighth term, having ruled since 1982. This would extend his 43-year reign. “The best is still to come,” he said in a post on X. Semafor has put together this handy table of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. We don’t think it’s fair to include King Mswati III of Eswatini on this list, as his country is a monarchy and Afwerki has bluntly said his country doesn’t do elections (fake or otherwise).

Tangents

We’ve published the first episode of our podcast, featuring renowned Somali scholar and thinker Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar. The interview is conducted in Somali, so get a translator if you need one. Samatar reflects on his intellectual journey, the books he has written on Somali politics, economics, and history, major debates in Somali Studies, and the role of music and poetry in Somali life.

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Good morning, Acacia readers! When we launched this newsletter, we were confident there would be enough happening each week to keep this dispatch interesting — and Somalis haven’t disappointed.

A TikTok craze has taken off over the past week, with loads of people on the app announcing they’re off to Mogadishu for a holiday next year. Mogadishu 2026. The videos are as funny as the idea is dangerous. @smallabdi is warning the would-be holidaymakers they’re “going to end up getting smoked”. If you’re wondering how al-Shabaab might react, one user’s already done a sanitised demo. It could get uglier.

@billz2mk#fyp #goviral #somalitiktok #lilmacks

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Another guy uploaded a video in which couldn’t contain his excitement at the thought of meeting his idol, Nimco Happy. Does she even live there? Others are busy drafting the lads who’ll make the cut for the trip, there is clothing advice — and yes, there are even AI-generated videos. One of them leans into a funny stereotype, with a character declaring: “Mogadishu ain’t got no laws”. It does.

Somali-American writer Najma Sharif has blasted American singer Azealia Banks, who last month randomly declared she’s a Zionist and bragged about not caring about the genocide in Gaza (her hatred runs so deep she recorded a song titled “Fuck Palestine”). As well as being loud and wrong about Gaza, Banks also doubled down on claiming Somalian was how you address Somalis and published a thread. Quick refresher: the people are Somali, the demonym is Somali — no one’s out here calling themselves Somalian. Sharif quite rightly called her a “dumbass”. Ilhan Omar shut down an AIPAC attempt to intimidate her over her objections to Israel receiving a lump sum of cash from the US. After AIPAC @’d her, she quote tweeted them, posting: “Tell Israel to use its own money…”

Banks also, somewhat bizarrely, brought up US airstrikes in Somalia — strikes which, according to our reporting, have been deadly for civilians. The US carried out yet another one this week, edging the total this year closer to 50. Donald Trump noted that there was a lot of “anger” in Africa this week, and having ordered more airstrikes than all other US presidents combined, he might do well to examine how he might be contributing to that.

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And shout-out to Bihi Egeh, Somalia’s finance minister, who received the African Finance Minister of the Year award from African Leadership Magazine in London and boxer Ramla Ali who beat Lila Furtado in New York.

That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week from whether Somalia should negotiate with al-Shabaab, to Dahabshiil being handed a heavy fine by the UK government.

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Security: To negotiate or not negotiate with al-Shabaab

In a recent interview, former Biden administration official Hamsa Warfa suggested that Somalia should consider negotiating with al-Shabaab, proposing that the Trump administration could help broker talks if the group agrees to expel foreign fighters and pursue its goals through democratic means. This idea isn’t unprecedented—President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expressed openness to dialogue at the Oslo Forum last year. The former national security adviser and foreign minister, Abdirahman Yusuf Ali (aka Abdisaid Muse), also told BBC Somali last July that the US and Qatar had engaged al-Shabaab without informing Somalia’s government. In a X thread this week, Abdisaid Muse said the “real question is not whether to negotiate with Al Shabaab. It is how, when and for what purpose.” However, prominent Somali scholar Afyare Elmi wrote late last year that the government has never been truly committed to talks.

Observers will, of course, take note that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria and Afghanistan’s Taliban—both of whom have taken control of their respective territories—have attempted to normalise their presence within the international system. Questions remain as to whether al-Shabaab can, or will, transform itself in the same way. Mukhtar Robow, a former deputy head of al-Shabaab, for example, defected in 2013 and is now the religious affairs minister—suggesting there is potential. However, it is a powerful al-Qaida affiliate which has said it has regional and global ambitions. Samira Gaid, a security analyst at Balqiis Insights, a Somalia-based think tank, tells Acacia that the “key test” for talks to begin in earnest would be them shedding the al-Qaida affiliation. But even that wouldn’t mean they’d engage Somali officials adds Gaid: [they] “would be ready for dialogue with external partners, not necessarily Somali officials, as they would be interested in full power consolidation, not power-sharing.” Gaid says the group has proved it can be pragmatic, but only when it serves their longer-term aim of getting “full power” in Somalia.

Politics: Somalia’s president visits Egypt

Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, visited Egypt this week, where he met with his counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It marks the fourth meeting between heads of state since Somaliland’s former president, Muse Bihi, signed a preliminary agreement with Ethiopia last year that would have seen Addis Ababa recognise Somaliland’s independence in exchange for a strip of land along its coast. Egypt, which has its own dispute with Ethiopia over a project to activate a dam it has built across the Nile, inserted itself into the row, vowing to defend Somalia’s territorial integrity and rejecting the presence of any non-littoral states in the Red Sea. The two countries have signed a defence pact, and Mogadishu has since invited Egyptian peacekeepers to assist in its fight against al-Shabaab. This infuriated Ethiopia, which made regular appeals to Somali leaders not to engage Egypt.

The agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia sparked a year-long diplomatic standoff between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa, which was resolved through Turkish mediation in what became known as the Ankara Declaration. Africa Intelligence has since reported that the Somali president’s recent trip to Egypt effectively nullified the Ankara Declaration, which had recognised Ethiopia’s need for commercial access to ports while securing Somali oversight and territorial integrity. According to Africa Intelligence however, the parties struggled to find a way forward during the technical talks and the deal is off. Adam Aw Hirsi, a member of the team involved talks in the talks and director of the Mogadishu-based think tank Foresight for Practical Solutions, says the report is incorrect. In a post on X, he simply wrote: “This reporting is not accurate. I know this because I am in the know on this topic.” Hassan Sheikh ended the week in Türkiye where he met the Turkish president.

Politics: SSC-Khaatumo, Puntland and the political race to the bottom

A territorial dispute between Puntland and Somalia’s newest aspirant federal state, SSC-Khaatumo (SSC-K), is intensifying over competing claims to parts of the northern Sanaag region and the loyalty of members of the Warsangeli clan who reside there. SSC-K began formalising its status in Somalia earlier this year, after local fighters expelled Somaliland’s security forces from its capital, Las Anod in 2023. The territory it claims overlaps not only with Somaliland, of course, but also with Puntland in the Sanaag region where both are now pressing their claims, leaving the Warsangeli with a stark choice. Sanaag is currently split between Somaliland in the west, Puntland in east and a small area under SSC-K control in the south.

The federal government, which has strained relations with Puntland, began egging-on SSC-K loyalists from the Warsangeli clan this week—including former Puntland parliamentary speaker Abdirashid Jibril, who organised a meeting in support of establishing the SSC-K administration in Sanaag. Puntland’s president, Said Deni, warned officials in Las Anod that Sanaag belongs to Puntland, telling SSC-K to stay within its “boundaries”. And just this week, the Warsangeli chief, Sultan Said Sultan Abdisalam—who often has the final say in political matters—declared his clan’s allegiance to Puntland and rejected the SSC-K administration outright. The issue is a microcosm of Somalia’s deeper state-building challenges, where land claims are rooted in ideas based on competing legitimacy systems. Somaliland seeks to restore a colonial-era boundary between British and Italian Somaliland, a move which has been rejected in the eastern regions. Puntland bases its claim on genealogical ties to other members of the Harti Darood clan, who reside in Sool and Sanaag—areas it disputes with Somaliland. Now, SSC-K, whose core constituency, the Dhulbahante, inhabit Sool and parts of Sanaag, is making maximalist claims to the latter region despite local objections. However, there does not appear to be consensus within SSC-K on how to proceed, with the formal political leadership of the state pushing for the absorption of Sanaag, and some traditional clan leaders opposing it. The Dhulbahante clan chief for example, Garad Jama Garad Ali, issued a video statement rejecting any moves on Sanaag by SSC-K, saying: “It cannot happen that what we rejected yesterday, we do to them [the Warsangeli].”

Society: Journalists continue to face harassment from authorities

Two journalists, Abdiqadir Mohamed Hassan and Yasir Ahmed, were recently arrested in Hargeisa. Hassan was sentenced to six months in prison and Ahmed was released after three days in detention. Speaking to local media, Ahmed said he was physically assaulted and treated as a “terrorist.”

This week, Mogadishu-based journalist Shukri Caabi Ahmed was forced to participate in the controversial (and increasingly coercive) voter registration process led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration. Her reporting was disrupted, and her ID was confiscated by Somalia’s intelligence agency. The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) has documented repeated incidents of assault, equipment confiscation, and interference with journalistic work since the voter registration process began. “It’s a worrying trend,” the SJS’s secretary-general, Abdalle Mumin told Acacia. “We’ve seen a growing wave of threats, suppression, and arrests targeting journalists and critical outlets in Mogadishu throughout 2024 and into 2025.” In the first four months of this year, attacks on journalists surged. According to the SJS, one journalist was killed, 46 detained, and many more faced violence, censorship, and intimidation — from both government forces and al-Shabaab.

Business: Dahabshiil hit with close to a million pound fine by the UK

Dahabshiil, one of the largest Somali-owned businesses in the world, has just been hit with a fine in the UK — nearly £1 million — for breaching the UK’s anti-money laundering regulations. This is the largest individual fine listed in HM Revenue & Customs latest compliance report. According to the report, the company failed in several areas, including risk assessments, due diligence, and registration accuracy. Dahabshiil has lodged an appeal.

For decades, Dahabshiil has served as a vital financial bridge between the Somali diaspora and communities back home. An estimated $1.3 billion is sent to Somalia each year — and 40% of the population depends on that money to survive. Dahabshiil has played a major role in facilitating this for many years, making the news especially concerning for millions of Somalis who rely on companies like Dahabshiil as a financial lifeline.

Across the gees

• Bloomberg’s Simon Marks mapped the UAE’s growing clout in East Africa this week. The Gulf country has been quietly snapping up ports and striking deals as part of a sprawling logistical network from Somalia to Libya, through South Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, to quietly back the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces which have been battling Sudan’s army since 2023. From Bosaso in north Somalia to Amdjarass in eastern Chad, Abu Dhabi has undoubtedly become a regional power player.

• Staying on Sudan, US president Donald Trump says he’ll be “facilitating peace” there, noting Sudan has got “a lot of problems”. “There is a lot of anger on your continent,” he observed. Never mind that one of America’s close allies, the UAE, is fuelling the chaos – two years of war have killed over 100,000, according to some estimates, and sparked the world’s biggest displacement crisis.

• On Monday, Kenyans hit the streets for Saba Saba – 7 July – marking the 1990 protests that pushed for an open democracy and an end to Daniel arap Moi’s one-party rule, leaving more than 30 people dead, over 100 injured, and upwards of 500 arrested. In his first public response, President William Ruto claimed there were attempts to overthrow his government, and ordered police to shoot protesters in the legs, vowing to maintain “peace and stability by all means necessary.” The demos are the latest flare-up of public anger at Ruto, who’s been dealing with off-and-on youth protests since last year.

Africa

• Donald Trump was at his most disrespectful while hosting a summit of African leaders in Washington — including representatives from Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau. He interrupted the Mauritanian president mid-pitch about his country’s natural riches (“Maybe we’re going to have to go a little bit quicker than this”, Trump said), then moved on to compliment the English of Liberia’s president — Liberia being, of course, an Anglophone country that the US helped to create in the first place. Not content with humiliating them, Trump reportedly used the opportunity to pressure these countries into accepting migrants deported from the US whose own governments have refused to take them back, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US is increasingly wielding its economic leverage in Africa to find takers for its widely criticised policy of deporting as many people as possible. Eight men have already been deported to South Sudan after weeks at a US base in Djibouti.

Tangents

Some wholesome content for your feed: Palestinian vlogger Waleed Maoed visited Somalia and dropped a video about his trip. He was genuinely moved by how warmly he was received, how good the food was and Mogadishu’s vibe.

That’s all from us. If you liked this please subscribe and share with your friends and family! Nabad gelyo, and for more, visit our website: https://www.geeska.com/en

Good morning & welcome back Acacia readers!

A Somali asylum seeker’s case is being reheard after a UK judge confused Somalia’s Hawiye clan with the US state of Hawaii and then threw the claim out. Did the judge Google search Somalia and then get lost on an Expedia ad? Translator and writer Aziz Mahdi suggested it would make an excellent topic for FKD sessions. We’ll have the shah ready. Even stranger, the ruling mentioned a kookaburra farm — perhaps a nod to Somalia’s agro‑pastoralist traditions? We’re not sure, but we can confirm kookaburras are Australian, not Somali.

Meanwhile, a banger from Somali singer Salah Sanaag has clocked more than a million views on YouTube in just a few days — he’s absolutely owning the Somali airwaves right now so give it a listen. Speaking of music, the once Somali rapper P Diddy has been cleared of the most serious charges — sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy — in his high-profile seven-week trial. Despite incredible testimony involving molotovs, forced participation in “freak-offs”, baby oil, and blackmailing Cassie’s mum, his lawyer still had the nerve to play the race card.

Somalia’s ambassador to China, Hodan Osman Abdi, has just been crowned African Woman of the Year 2025. In an Instagram post, she said she was “honoured” to receive the award and offered a glimpse of how she sees the future, quoting a Ugandan poet who performed at the event: “China is the Europe of 100 years ago. Many of our leaders were educated in Europe before they ruled our land — but in the future, many will be those who studied and worked in China!” Abdi completed her PhD at Zhejiang University. Another rising Somali is former Puntland leader Abdiweli Ali Gaas who has been tapped up as the African Union chairperson’s special representative to South Sudan. The country has been teetering on brink of renewed fighting for months. And Somalia is reportedly set to build a new international airport north of the capital, Mogadishu. Regional watcher Rashid Abdi reckons it could one day host a Turkish space station. What a grand venture that would be. Turkey’s development agency, TİKA, has also completed the restoration of the Al-Nejashi Mosque—believed to be the oldest mosque in Africa—after it was damaged during the conflict in Tigray. Somali journalist Abdulrazaq Hassan visited the site for Geeska earlier this year.

Not all is well though. A Deutsche Welle investigation found two Somali YouTubers streaming content which encourages violence and raises cash for fighting in Somalia from their homes in Germany. The report’s impartiality has been vigorously contested, but the case casts a spotlight on the really toxic impact that diaspora (and resident) social‑media warriors have on politics back home. The Telegraph reported—and Geeska’s Ibrahim Osman covered—the phenomenon which the latter dubbed “cyber clannism”. Cardiologist and Somali intellectual Mohammed Aden Sheikh described it as “remote clannism.”

Welcome, if you haven’t heard—this is Acacia, Geeska’s weekly dispatch from the Horn and beyond. We’re on our fourth issue and we’ve been going for a month! We bring you the news that matters to Somalis: from Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Hargeisa to Hounslow. East Africa is our backyard, but we’ll flag what’s driving conversations across the continent too. Think of it as your one-stop shop for all things us. (You’re welcome.)

That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week: a massive and unusual forest fire in the Sanaag region, the impact of illegal fishing on Somalia, and growing reports that Puntland is facilitating arms transfers from the UAE to Sudan.

Environment: Wildfires breakout in Sanaag’s Daallo Mountains

A major fire has broken out across the Daallo Mountains, a green and ecologically rich area in Sanaag known for its forests and scenic highlands. The blaze burned through an extensive stretch of farmland for more than 24 hours, with no significant response or containment efforts. Somaliland’s agriculture ministry has confirmed that more than 220 farms were destroyed. (Footage was shared on social media). Saleban Sahal, the digital strategy chief in Somaliland’s presidency, said “the livelihoods of our hardworking farmers have been turned to ashes by devastating wildfires, worsened by the impacts of climate change.” Somalia’s deputy prime minister, Salah Jama, appealed for increased “development financing” following the incident, to help combat what he also described as a “climate-induced” fire in Daallo.

In recent years, experts have issued growing warnings about the impact of climate change across the Horn of Africa. A report by the Norwegian Refugee Council said that Somalia contributes just 0.03% to global climate emissions, yet “finds itself bearing the brunt of climate change’s wrath”, from irregular rainfall patterns to droughts, floods, and now fires. Neither Somalia nor Somaliland possesses firefighting resources capable of responding to or mitigating such disasters should they recur. This was seen in major recent fires in Hargeisa and Mogadishu which burnt through major markets in both cities.

Environment: Illegal fishing in Somali waters

Illegal fishing in Somali waters has long been rampant and largely unchecked—maritime looting that has driven many coastal communities to take up arms in desperation. Recently, The Telegraph reported a resurgence of piracy in the Red Sea, driven by deteriorating maritime security following Houthi attacks on US‑ and Israeli‑affiliated ships. Though the Houthi attacks have created a security vacuum for pirates to re‑emerge, they have also enabled foreign vessels to plunder Somali waters with impunity. Speaking before the Puntland parliament, the state’s fisheries minister said that Somalia loses over $300 million annually to illegal fishing. Between 1981 and 2014, foreign vessels extracted approximately 2.5 million metric tonnes of fish from Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, more than double the domestic catch of 1.2 million tonnes. The problem is worsening.

A recent ENACT report revealed widespread illegal fishing of endangered species, including the gulper shark (for its prized liver oil), despite Puntland’s restriction measure introduced last year. The illicit trade is facilitated by a shadowy supply chain involving local brokers, exporters, and corrupt officials. To evade detection, gulper shark oil is smuggled via covert ship-to-ship transfers at sea, rather than through official Puntland ports. Bound primarily for markets in China and the Gulf, the oil fetches high prices but remains untraceable. Jethro Norman, a Somalia specialist at the Danish Institute for International Studies, tells Acacia that illegal fishing in Somalia isn’t just a problem of weak enforcement it’s “a global racket”. “It’s a system that treats Somali waters as a free-for-all; rewarding extraction, [and] punishing subsistence,” he adds. “Somalia has the potential to build a thriving and locally led blue economy, but that future is being stolen in real time, net by net.”

Politics: Who is in really in charge of the ONLF?

An internal leadership crisis within the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)—a Somali nationalist group that fought for decades against the Ethiopian government for the self-determination of the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region—has intensified in recent weeks. Abdikarim Qalbi-Dhagah, the group’s longest-serving military-wing leader and a household name among Somalis, was elected as the ONLF’s new leader at a party congress; however, a statement on X from the group’s official account denounced the entire process as “illegitimate and politically orchestrated” and accused the government of “a state-orchestrated takeover” of its leadership. What is going on in Jijiga?

Juweria Ali, a leading expert on the group and research fellow at the University of Westminster, says the ONLF is now “split”, with the main dispute centred on the impact of a 2018 peace treaty the organisation signed with newly elected Abiy Ahmed, ending decades of conflict with the government. “There is no consensus on what peaceful political struggle looks like”, Ali tells Acacia. One faction, led by current leader Qalbi-Dhagah, wants to work pragmatically with the government, she says. The other, led by Abdirahman Mahdi—controversially ousted as leader in April—sees Qalbi-Dhagah’s group as co-opted and straying from the ONLF’s original path.

The new leadership appears to have the backing of the Somali region’s president, Mustafe Omar, who congratulated Qalbi-Dhagah on his new role in a BBC Somali interview and was recognised by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) suggesting the Prosperity party, which rules Ethiopia approves. Jama Hassan Gallad, a veteran ONLF member turned popular and polarising political commentator, last month said the party today has become “unrecognisable”, adding: “I regret spending so much of my time with the ONLF.”

Politics: Somaliland explores ties with Qatar

Earlier this week, Abdirahman Irro became the first Somaliland president to visit Qatar, signalling a shift in foreign policy away from its recent alignment with Qatar’s Gulf rival, the UAE. A read out from Somaliland’s presidency said the meeting focussed on a “shared agenda centered on diplomatic cooperation, economic opportunity, and sustainable development.” Suhaib Mahmoud, Geeska’s editor-in-chief, said the trip signals a “tangible shift in Hargeisa’s diplomatic approach” towards “non-traditional partners, as it strives to break its international isolation and strengthen its political standing”.

This is important for another reason as well: Doha has historically been a key supporter of Somalia’s central government, offering diplomatic, financial, and even military backing to Mogadishu. That was reflected in the statement Qatar released after the meeting, in which it “reaffirmed” its longstanding “one Somalia” policy — a stance that has irked Somaliland officials. But it does reveal the beginning of an “openness” on both sides to engage in dialogue, which “may be more significant than the headlines suggest”, adds Mahmoud. Qatar will find it difficult to present itself as an impartial mediator—as it did last week between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo—but it can still play a role by incentivising problem solving.

Security: Is Puntland allowing the UAE to transit weapons through Bosaso to Sudan?

Since the start of the Sudan war, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as a key backer of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. African Intelligence now reports that Bosaso Airport in Puntland has become a “centrepiece” for the UAE’s covert arms transfers to the RSF, facilitated by the Abu Dhabi’s close ties to Puntland’s leadership and the airport’s strategic location near the Gulf of Aden. The story was first reported by Middle East Eye in April. In May, Sudan lodged a complaint with Somalia’s federal government about Puntland. However, Puntland denies allowing such transfers, and the UAE denies arming the RSF—despite US senator Chris Van Hollen releasing a letter from the Biden administration stating that the UAE would not continue arming the RSF “going forward”. A tacit admission, perhaps?

The reports have sparked criticism from Somali political figures. The former president of Hirshabelle (one of Somalia’s federal states), Ali Abdullahi Osoble, accused Puntland’s current leader, Said Deni, of granting the UAE a military base in Bosaso and allowing Somalia to be used as a transit point in the Sudan conflict. Somalia’s former foreign minister, Abdisaid Muse Ali, who served the last president, Mohamed Farmaajo, also implicated Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, saying that such operations would require his explicit knowledge and approval.

Across the gees

• A recent report by The Sentry alleges that Eritrean troops carried out widespread looting across northern Tigray during the war, targeting civilian homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. Soldiers reportedly seized cash, mobile phones, jewellery, and electronics in building-to-building raids, while larger items such as diesel generators were allegedly loaded onto trucks using cranes. Eritrean officers have also profited from illegal gold mining, and valuable historical artefacts have been looted from Tigray. Eritrea released a statement calling The Sentry report “libellous and defamatory”.

• In Ethiopia, four doctors remain in detention despite the end of a nationwide strike that began in mid-May over low wages and poor working conditions. Among them is Dr Daniel Fentaneh of Tibebe Ghion Specialised Hospital in the Amhara region, who has been held without charge for over a week. The others currently in custody are Dr Tofik Aman, Wendimnew Wale Jenber, and Yaregal Hawultu. Selam Gebremedhin, an Ethiopian doctor herself, wrote for Geeska about what drove the doctors to take industrial action. This graphic illustrates it.

• In a recent interview with Lamis Elhadidy, Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdel Atty firmly reiterated Egypt’s categorical opposition to any form of “foreign presence” in the Red Sea by countries not geographically connected to its shores. It was a clear allusion to Ethiopia which has maritime ambitions despite being landlocked. He declared that “the Red Sea is a red line” for Egypt, emphasising that the area is of exclusive concern to its littoral states. Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has said that Addis Ababa will pursue sea access only through peaceful means.

Africa

• A recent study published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, has warned that continued funding cuts to US humanitarian programs could lead to over 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including more than 4.5 million children under five. In March, the US announced it would not be cutting its premier aid agency, USAid, despite the Trump administration’s belief that it no longer serves American interests.

Tangents

This week, we’re highlighting a discussion between Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden of the China Global South Project and Riley Duke of the Lowy Institute on Africa’s debt crisis, examining how debt repayments are derailing low-income countries and how Chinese lending to Africa differs from that of other global creditors.

That’s all from us. Nabad gelyo, and for more, visit our website: https://www.geeska.com/en

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Good morning & welcome back Acacia readers! Happy independence day to Djibouti (which was yesterday), and best wishes for the ongoing Somali independence week.

Somalia’s prime minister Hamza Barre faced the eternal dilemma of the conservative Muslim public figures this week. To shake or not to shake. We saw it when Syria’s new leader president Ahmed al-Sharaa came face-to-hand with Germany’s Annalena Baerbock. UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov had a moment on CBS Sports a few weeks ago. Then, just this week, Barre found himself in similar territory during the launch of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s vision for what he wants Somalia to look like at its centennial in 2060. Barre swerved politely with the classic wudhu-preserving hand-to-heart manoeuvre. No contact, no controversy (Watch here with some great commentary).

Speaking of Somalia 2060, AI-generated videos have finally done something vaguely useful in Somali spaces depicting a slick, high-gloss, hyper-developed Somalia of the future. The Somali government showed the footage at the 2060 event to an audience of Mogadishu’s elites and foreign dignitaries, and it is now available on the YouTube channel of the public broadcaster, SNTV. There are bullet trains, scientists, massive malls, luxury seafront hotels and Somali troops at a building that resembles the White House (?!). Architectural upgrade for Villa Somalia: loading …

Staying with the topic of East Africans in American politics: Zohran Mamdani just inched closer to the New York mayoralty after absolutely flattening his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Andrew Cuomo. “Alhamdulillah!”, posted Ilhan Omar. Mamdani’s family are of Indian descent from Uganda and part of that complex East African–South Asian diaspora mix. (They’re big in the UK). As one BlueSky user saw it, Mamdani is simply the latest in a line of East African-linked figures, stretching from Kamala Harris to Ilhan Omar, and all the way back to Barack Obama—the original beachhead. “East Africa has been playing the long game and I for one think it's beautiful”, posted Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, a philosopher and professor at Georgetown University. Faisal Roble noted that Zohran Mamdani’s dad, Mahmood Mamdani, an accomplished scholar of Africa, was tight with Somali intellectual Hussein Aden Tanzania. “Hussein invited Mamdani to one of the Somali studies conferences,” Roble posted on X, “where the latter delivered an excellent paper on Islam, Somalia, and state formation”.

Another East African on his way up this week is Sir Mo Farah, who received an honorary degree from Oxford University, describing it as a “dream come true”. The university congratulated him on X, as did Maya Jama, who also gave a really interesting interview this week on Chunkz’s podcast.

Welcome, if you haven’t heard—this is Acacia, Geeska’s weekly dispatch from the Horn and beyond. We bring you the news that matters to Somalis: from Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Hargeisa to Hounslow. East Africa is our backyard, but we’ll flag what’s driving conversations across the continent too. Think of it as your one-stop shop for all things us. (You’re welcome.)

That’s the entrée. Now for a deeper dive into the stories we’re featuring this week: an examination of aid dependence in Somalia, whether child soldiers are still active, and how the complex politics surrounding Somalia’s independence week have reignited debate over who can claim and celebrate the original event.

Security: Somalia delisted from list of countries that recruit children as soldiers

Good news (sort of): Somalia’s national army (SNA) and police force (SPF) have officially been delisted from the UN’s register of forces accused of recruiting and using child soldiers, according to the latest report from the UN secretary-general on children and armed conflict. The defence ministry hailed it as a “historic announcement.”

There’s a snag though. The same report places Somalia third globally for verified violations against children—behind only Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 2,500 “grave violations” were recorded, largely carried out by federal member state police, security agencies, al-Shabaab, and clan militias. Over 700 children remain active within state security forces and armed groups, and nearly 600 were either killed or maimed. The delisting isn’t permanent. The report makes clear that it hinges entirely on Somalia’s “continued implementation of their action plan and road map.”

Politics: Aid dependence in a less generous world

It seems Somali leaders are starting to rethink their long-standing relationship with foreign aid. The deputy prime minister, Salah Jama, didn’t hold back during his recent monologue at the launch of Somalia’s financial governance report. With a mix of realism and resignation, he noted that the old mantra “Somalia needs help, it is facing hardships” just isn’t landing like it used to. “The world’s on fire,” he said, “and it’s unclear whether Somalia will even get noticed.”

Somalia has made solid gains in raising its own revenue, pulling off a 51% increase over four years. But some, 60% of Somalia’s budget still comes from external support. And foreign assistance accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s income, 40% of which comes from USAid (which Trump has now taken apart). Whilst this is being framed as an opportunity to rethink how African countries are supported (and we encourage you to all read this), the Somali government already struggles to deliver even basic services and this shift will only make life harder for ordinary Somalis who relied on aid.

History: The new politics Somalia’s independence week

Last week Somaliland’s spokesperson, Hussein Deyr, made an intervention on Somali history. “The Government and People of the Republic of Somaliland firmly assert that June 26, 1960, is the official Independence Day of Somaliland,” he posted on X, “and it holds no historical or legal connection to Somalia’s statehood.” He was referring, of course, to the fact that British Somaliland gained independence five days before the Italian trusteeship territory in the south, with the two states voluntarily merging to form the Somali Republic. As a result, most Somalis mark an entire independence week rather than a single day rolling both milestones into one extended celebration. The capital, Mogadishu, has been filled with Somali flags as people have begun celebrating and the president visited a monument marking the event. The Ogaden National Liberation Front, also released a statement marking the day.

The history behind this episode is being re-litigated by Somalis, as Somaliland pushes ahead with its bid for independence, legitimised, in the government’s view, by the fact that it was legally independent from the rest of what became the Somali Republic for a few days. This is why Somaliland officials are increasingly attempting to lay exclusive claim to the meaning of the day. (look at the language in these statements from the Somali foreign ministry and a senior adviser to Somaliland’s current president to get what we mean). A more interesting line of argument was advanced by Somaliland’s representative to Kenya, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud on BBC Somali, that Somaliland was the parent state into which the Italian-ruled region merged, on account of having gained independence first and was withdrawing from that. Mohamed Issa Trunji is one of the foremost Somali historians of the period (check his book out), and he tells Acacia the present always impacts how we see the past. “People have different perceptions of what happened today,” he says, “but irrespective at the time everyone wanted it and everyone was happy, so it will remain a day all Somalis celebrate.”

Diaspora: Trump can’t stop using Somalia as a scarecrow in his Ilhan Omar rants

Somalia caught another stray in Donald Trump’s ongoing feud with Somali-American lawmaker Ilhan Omar. In a meandering post on Truth Social, in which Trump gave a digital riposte to several Democrats, he also targeted Omar, with remarks about her “Failed Country” which he added is: “drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the world”. Omar accused Trump of turning the US into one of the “worst countries” too (and called him a “sad little man” on Instagram), but Trump has a habit of dragging Somalia into his attacks on her, playing it up to spook his base. At a 2020 campaign rally, he said Omar comes from a country with “no government, no safety, no police, no nothing—just anarchy. And now she’s telling us how to run our country.” (read this for more examples).

Trump’s cynical use of Somalia as a scarecrow for his supporters is mostly ignored by Somali political figures, but, there was some reaction to Trump’s initial post. The reaction from Somali officials was mixed and, at times, surprising. Galmudug presidential candidate Hussein Darwish agreed with Trump’s criticism, calling it a “painful truth.” His comment drew rebuke from former minister Adam Aw Hirsi, who urged him to “get a grip.” Meanwhile, anti-corruption campaigner and MP Abdillahi Abib weighed in too posting, “Trump was right: Somalia is a failed state,” directly blaming President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for the country’s condition.

Politics: Somalia’s president sits with opposition figures to mend rift over elections

Somalia’s political elite usually fall out around election time. Because the elections are typically indirect and the method by which they’ll be held isn’t pre-agreed, they begin jostling ahead of polls to ensure that an electoral model which best serves their presidential prospects is adopted. In recent years, Somalia has used an indirect model that relies on the country’s clans to choose who they send to parliament, with MPs then electing the president. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the incumbent, changed the constitution last April to introduce direct suffrage (first time in four decades), a move that many opposition leaders, as well as Puntland and Jubaland, have alleged may smooth the way for Hassan Sheikh’s return to an unprecedented third term. How you hold a direct election in a country largely ungoverned by the responsible state remains a mystery, triggering concerns about possible tailoring of who gets to vote to rig the outcome. The government says the move is a step towards multi-party democracy, and Ali Omar, a minister, defended it by saying the “clan-based system was a bridge — not a destination”.

Just like in the last election, this led presidential hopefuls (ex-PMs, presidents, and other) to form a group called the Somali Salvation Forum, to pressure the president into negotiating something they could agree on, which in turn led to a political standoff in the capital. This week we saw a small breakthrough, as some members of the group met the president at Villa Somalia and agreed to begin negotiations on those issues. It appeared cordial in the clips as they left, but Harun Maruf, a prominent Somali journalist at Voice of America, noted that observers believe they’re still far apart on the substantive issues. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are Somali elections which are messy, complex and often very corrupt.

Despite the small step forward, Said Deni and Ahmed Madobe—presidents of Puntland and Jubaland respectively, and important power brokers—boycotted earlier calls for meetings and voiced their frustration, rejecting any political decision made without them. Puntland’s interior minister said the opposition in the capital was “outmaneuvered” by the president. But former president Mohamed Farmaajo welcomed the meeting, calling it a promising step toward resolving key political disagreements.

Across the gees

• Virginia Gamba, a special adviser to the UN secretary-general on the prevention of genocide, has told the UN Human Rights Council that the “risk of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan remains very high.” Gamba said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias, who are fighting the Sudanese army, “continue to conduct ethnically motivated attacks against the Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur groups” in Darfur. The US has also determined the RSF has committed genocide in Darfur. They’ve been raping women, executing civilians, shouting racial slurs, and burning villages across the region since the start of the conflict.

• Kenya once again witnessed renewed nationwide protests, primarily led by Gen Z, commemorating last year’s deadly anti-finance bill demonstrations, which have so far resulted in 16 confirmed deaths and dozens of injuries, mostly attributed to police violence. The protests saw violent confrontations between demonstrators and security forces, with police deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and live ammunition. CNN International correspondent Larry Madowo filmed police using tear gas and other violent measures against protesters. The unrest was further fuelled by public outrage over the recent death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody, which led to murder charges against six suspects, including police officers. Kenya’s interior minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, said the protests were “terrorism disguised as dissent” and likened them to a coup. William Ruto, the president, offered to step down if he could be persuaded that the protesters have a better plan for the country.

• The US and Qatar have brokered a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in Washington, ending a decade‑old conflict dating back to the Rwandan genocide and the upheavals of the 1990s. The dispute regained international attention early this year when Rwanda‑backed M23 rebels seized parts of North and South Kivu in eastern DRC, in a rampage which killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Donald Trump later bragged that the US would secure “a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo” as a result of the deal. When it comes to critical metals for future industries, the DRC is both a key supplier and but also of the world’s most exploited countries.

Africa

• A month after his death, former Zambian president Edgar Lungu still hasn’t been buried because of a long-running grudge with the incumbent, President Hakainde Hichilema, who Lungu said he did not want at his funeral. Hichilema wants to hold a state funeral for Lungu which he must preside over, but Lungu’s family have honoured his wish, eventually attempting to bury him in South Africa. Lungu had Hichilema jailed when he was an opposition figure, before being defeated by him in the 2021 election. After coming to power, Hichilema was similarly accused by Lungu of placing him under house arrest, frequently targeting him with repressive measures (read here) and blocking his attempt to return to frontline politics, fuelling deep resentment between the two. The funeral went ahead this week at a cathedral in Johannesburg but was halted at the last minute after Zambia lodged a legal complaint, leaving attendees in limbo.

Tangents

• This week on tangents, we want to flag this: Iman Fartum, a Somali tech entrepreneur and founder of ShoppyMonkey, shares her journey of breaking into tech and launching an accessible, empowering e-commerce platform in conversation with the Somali Circle.

That is all from us. Nabad gelyo.

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Good morning, Acacia readers!

An ISIS suspect captured by Puntland forces made the most unexpected statement earlier this week: “I don’t feel like a prisoner. I feel like a rapper.” Hard to blame him: he was surrounded by grinning Puntland officers filming selfies like he’d just dropped a mixtape, not been nabbed in a counter-terror raid. Speaking of music: a clip of Somali airforce recruits in Turkey went viral this week after they broke into the national anthem—on a piano. And with Iran and Israel fighting, classic Qaraami anti-Israel songs are getting a second life online.

Somali footballer Sak Hassan has signed for Wealdstone FC. And Somalia’s ambassador to China, Hodan Osman Abdi, made local news—speaking impressive Mandarin at a trade expo. AI is still impacting Somali social media. Since that airborne ayeeyo clip we flagged in our first issue, new AI-generated videos have been deployed in the Somalia–Somaliland Twitter feud. (They’re kinda funny).

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Somalia is establishing its own stock exchange, which will help Somali companies across a range of sectors to raise capital, grow, and allow people to buy government bonds. Young Somali innovators are coming up with low-cost housing designs for displaced populations demonstrating their creative problem-solving skills. Meanwhile, Puntland’s president Said Deni is asking why young people are migrating en masse as foreigners are landing jobs in his state: he should probably ask those young people leaving in droves, 60 more of whom drowned in the Mediterranean this week.

Welcome, if you haven’t heard—this is Acacia, Geeska’s weekly dispatch from the Horn and beyond. We bring you the news that matters to Somalis: from Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Hargeisa to Hounslow. East Africa is our backyard, but we’ll flag what’s driving conversations across the continent too. Think of it as your one-stop shop for all things us. (You’re welcome.)

That’s the entrée. Now for a deep dive into the stories we’re featuring this week.

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Society: Rape suspects arrested in Las Anod

A horrifying incident has rocked the city of Las Anod, where two young sisters, Fahima & Farah, were reportedly gang raped by 24 men. Liban Barre, spokesperson for the SSC police confirmed the incident: “It’s true that this case happened, and all 24 suspects are in police custody.” He described the crime as one that “goes against human decency”. Massive protests kicked off afterwards in Las Anod, as word got out. In response, the Dhulbahante clan chief, Garaad Jaamac Garaad Ali, put out a statement offering condolences—“especially to the women of the city”—and called for a fair trial. “We await the investigative authorities to clarify who committed the crime so that the judiciary can deliver a just verdict,” he said.

When the president of SSC-Khaatumo, Abdikadir Ahmed Ali (Firdhiye), spoke to the media, he confirmed reports that security officials had allowed the accused suspects to participate in the national exams, calling the decision a “disgrace”. Firdhiye, who has now been president of the new federal state for almost two years, said he views the case as a “test” for his administration and a choice between “dignity and honor, or humiliation and disgrace”. “We will not allow such an atrocity to ever happen again in our community”, he added.

The incident sparked huge outrage in Somalia and online, kicking off a heated debate about women’s place in Somali society. Samira Gaid, a prominent security analyst, posted: “How we respond to such brutality against women reveals our values as a society.” Somalia’s former foreign minister, Abdisaid Muse Ali, said: “This is not just a crime, it is an assault on our shared culture, religion & humanity”. The issue was quickly picked up on Somali Reddit where @ThrowRA_Salary_5129 posted: “Somalia will actually never prosper until we stop the despicable and inhumane treatment of our women.” Another commenter, expressing very real fury at the incident, added: “Now we are all waiting for the largest public execution in Somalia’s history.”

Online: How [not?] to do a Somalia map …

Borders are no joke, especially for Somalis, who’ve seen (all of) them disputed for most of the 20th and 21st centuries. The issue’s so big that the country’s most celebrated writer, Nuruddin Farah, titled one of his novels Maps. TRT World may have missed that context this week when it aired a map showing Somalia and Somaliland as separate countries—divided neatly along the old British-Italian colonial border—during coverage of a Turkish seismic survey ship leaving Somali waters. It didn’t go down well when spotted and speaks to just how deeply contested this still is.

Twitter user @Deee_luul blasted the broadcaster accusing Turkey of “looting Somalia’s oil” (referring to the Turkey-Somalia hydrocarbon deal) and “now mocking our sovereignty and unity?” Somalilanders were obviously delighted with what they saw in the quote tweets. Abdi Ibrahim, a Somaliland advocate, @’d the Somali foreign ministry, wondering why TRT World got a pass when the BBC, which published the same map that week, got publicly dressed down by the government in its coverage of the Trump ban. The Somali government called on the BBC to “promptly remove” the map and shortly after it did.

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Politics: Pants too tight, republic too dead

Somalia’s prime minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, has finally said the quiet part out loud: he’s not sold on Somali federalism. Speaking to political figures at the Decale Hotel, he compared the current setup to a pair of badly cut trousers—no matter how much you tailor them, they’ll never fit right. Translation: the system doesn’t need tweaks, it needs a full redesign, he believes. His comment hints at a deeper problem: Somalia’s stalled state-building isn’t just down to conflict with al-Shabaab or the consequences of the civil war—it’s also about competing visions of what the Somali state should be.

Al-Shabaab of course doesn’t think the government should exist per se, so we can leave them out of this discussion. But the federal model was adopted by Somali elites in 2004, and aimed to scale the clan-based local polities that sprang up after the state collapsed to reconstruct it from the ground up. In reality, it was less a grand plan than an improv job but it shared power and kept the Somali state, which had traumatised the public in the 1990s, far away. The big questions, however—whether federalism was the right call, where most power should sit, and who actually counts as part of the federation—were never really settled and the current president’s perceived failings have brought those questions into focus again. A range of views persist on what should be done.

Somaliland still wants out of Somalia. Khaatumo-SSC wants out of Somaliland. Puntland’s interior minister, Abdi Farah Juxa, has proclaimed the “third republic” (the federal state) dead. Puntland’s unofficial spokesperson, Mohamed Mubarak, believes a confederation with broader autonomy would allow “successful places to continue succeeding without being held back by those that don't want to change”. Mahdi Guleid, a former deputy PM and current MP, says we need more federal states, to give greater ownership to more communities. And former minister Abdi Hosow says calling for a confederation now—before fixing the current mess—is “like abandoning a house because the roof leaks.” What do you guys think?

Puntland and the Pentagon’s shadow war

This week, the US launched two more airstrikes—including one on IS-Somalia in Puntland—bringing Africom’s total this year to a staggering 41 airstrikes (which is around 1 strike every four days). Puntland’s security forces have been relying on American and Emirati air support for their months-long campaign against IS-Somalia, which plays an increasingly key role in the organisation globally. But in any case, Trump apparently really likes bombing Somalia. He carried out around 200 strikes in his first term—more than all his predecessors going back to Bush; leading Somali writer Jamila Osman to say the US is engaged in a “covert war” in the country. In February, the US said that it had carried out the largest-ever airstrike in history in Somalia from an aircraft carrier, dropping 125,000 pounds of ordnance.

The problem with these strikes, is that Africom statements after the fact almost always claim that “no civilians were harmed” in their operations. Medical officials in Puntland—where most US strikes have hit this year—have contradicted that, telling Acacia they’ve treated airstrike victims in Bosaso hospitals. But even as far back as 2019, Abdirizak Mohamed, a former Somali security minister said: “There is no way the Somali government can verify Africom’s claims that terrorists have been killed, it’s very difficult to go into al-Shabaab areas”. As a result he concluded, “we can’t always take Africom for what it says”. Past reports have frequently found civilian casualties, including recent local media accounts this year where a family said a relative was killed in an Emirati strike. Khalil Dewan, a PhD Nomos scholar at SOAS specialising in drones, says that the campaign outside a declared war zone “raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and potential extrajudicial killings.” He adds that the “true scale or full human cost of these covert campaigns” may never been known without better information about who is targeted, why and on what basis.

Culture: Djibouti to Beijing in film

In 2022, the Somali-language film, The Gravedigger’s Wife, made history becoming Somalia’s first-ever entry for Best International Feature at the Oscars. This week, the movie made another breakthrough at the China-Africa Film Week, where it was screened in China for the first time. Set in Djibouti and directed by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, a Finnish-Somali filmmaker, it tells the story of Guled, a poor gravedigger in Djibouti City, desperate to save his wife Nasra, who needs urgent surgery. It explores the themes of love and sacrifice against the backdrop of crippling poverty. “I felt a sense of responsibility to tell the story of how I view my Somali community and to tell this story with dignity, tenderness and compassion – all the qualities I’ve been raised with,” Ahmed told the Guardian in 2021.

Across the gees

• This week, Kenya’s Daily Nation uncovered Kenyan-branded ammunition—reportedly linked to the country’s defense ministry—in a weapons depot abandoned by Sudan’s RSF paramilitary group. That’s the same RSF that, back in February, announced a shadow government in Nairobi, prompting Sudan to accuse Kenya of violating its sovereignty. Kenya denied any “ulterior motives” in hosting the group at the time which Khartoum didn’t buy and apparently for good reason. Cameron Hudson, a former CIA hand turned Africa analyst, posted that it’s probably time the US asked its major “non-NATO ally about this…” Kenya has said it isn’t a party to Sudan’s war.

• The Ethiopian government’s unofficial think tank, Horn Review, has frequently published outrageous policy proposals regarding the country’s maritime ambitions — but a recent article under its editorial banner truly took the cake. It suggested the Dahlak Archipelago, a series of islands off Eritrea’s coast in the Red Sea, could be the location of a “logistics base or joint-use facility in collaboration with Eritrea”. The two countries are closer to outright war than to cooperation right now but it speaks to the persistence of the idea that the Ethiopian navy can be resuscitated, and that someone will hand over land for it. All of Ethiopia’s coastal neighbours oppose the idea.

• Prosecutors want to try former Belgian diplomat Etienne Davignon for the 1961 assassination of Patrice Émery Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first (and greatest) prime minister. A pan-Africanist and fierce advocate for African self-determination, Lumumba was executed with Belgian backing seven months after coming to power. Belgium admitted its role in 2001 and apologised a year later (and again in 2022), but real justice has been slow. Davignon is the last surviving member of the ten Belgians believed to have been involved. Lumumba’s daughter says the country is “moving in the right direction.”

Africa

• Ghana’s Drunkards Association has given the government three weeks to lower liquor prices–or they’ve said they’ll shut the country down. We briefly considered letting our Africa section explore what a booze-fueled national shutdown in Accra could look like, but calmer heads prevailed here. Instead, we’re flagging an equally staggering story: an ongoing, multi-billion-dollar gold heist in Ghana, facilitated by, guess who… the UAE. According to a report by Swiss aid, a poverty-focused non-profit, some $11.4 billion worth of gold has quietly gone missing, most of it smuggled to Dubai. That’s enough to pay 22.6 million Ghanaians—two-thirds of the population—the minimum wage for a year, according to our math. Nigel Mugamu, founder of Zimbabwe’s 263Chat, asked the question plenty of Ghanaians are probably thinking right now: “LOST this money to WHO? Names?”. Ulf Laessing, a German analyst, says this is just “the tip of the iceberg”—you can fly gold into the UAE in your luggage, no questions asked. In another report last year, Swiss aid estimated that $30 billion is smuggled out of Africa annually.

Tangents

• Yuval Noah Harari, the author of Sapiens, has some thoughts on how AI might shake up text-based religions—mainly the Abrahamic ones. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he imagined a future where AI, trained on sacred texts, could replace the clergy. In the past, “the Bible could not interpret itself,” Harari said, so we needed “human beings as an intermediary.” That won’t always be necessary, depending on how comfortable we become with our language models. And AI might even be better, he says. “For the first time in human history, there’s something that can remember every single word written by every rabbi over the last 2,000 years—and talk back to you and explain and defend its views,” he added. Would that work for you? (Go to 12:55).

And that’s us. Nabad gelyo.

We don’t usually do mid-week newsletters. But with the Middle East blowing up—and the significant interest—we’re making an exception. And yes, breaking news: Israel’s hit Iran, and the two countries are now basically at war. We aren’t sure how many Somalis live in Iran, but apparently enough to make the Somali embassy in Ankara tell its citizens to get out—fast. (Somalia hasn’t had an embassy in Iran since 2016 and reportedly received aid from Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, that very day. They agreed to restore ties last year.)

Somalis keep a close eye on the Middle East for plenty of obvious reasons. The Red Sea is the only thing standing between them and the region, a big Somali diaspora stretches from Egypt to the UAE, and shared faith adds another strong link. So when the Middle East’s future is being determined, as it is now, Somalis are all ears and opinions.

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On Middle East issues, the Somali government usually marches in lockstep with the big regional players like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey and coordinate closely with the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation—both forums where it counts some of its closest allies. Most Arab countries have been extremely critical of Israel’s attack on Iran. At the UN security council—where Somalia currently holds a non-permanent seat—its rep said the country was “gravely concerned” by Israel’s strike on Iran, adding that Mogadishu recognises the right to self-defence but called on both sides to settle things at the table, not with missiles.

Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), warned the world not to complete the trilogy of global conflicts—invoking World War I and II and urging leaders to steer clear of a third. Speaking at an event in Hargeisa, Irro struck a neutral tone, taking no clear side, but said Somaliland should start preparing for what this could mean. “We may not be a recognised country,” he said, “but we still have a voice—and we’ll use it to call for peace.” Somaliland’s been playing an interesting foreign policy hand lately—cosying up to the UAE and pitching itself as a potential US ally in the Red Sea neighbourhood. As we send this out, a US delegation is in Hargeisa. Irro wouldn’t call himself a great friend of Iran—and the Iranians likely wouldn’t think of him that way either.

Brigadier General Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh—of the American-trained Danab unit in the Somali army—offered his own take on where the world’s headed after the strikes. In today’s geopolitical climate, he said, “idealism is a liability,” arguing that the global security order tends validate the belief that might is right. Sheikh kept his comments broad and didn’t name either Iran or Israel, but said that in a world of increasingly unconventional warfare, outcomes hinge on more than just firepower. For him, the real test of military success is how strong—and self-reliant—a country’s war economy and finances are.

Adam Aw Hirsi, a director of the Mogadishu based thinktank, Foresight for Practical Solutions, told The Pulse Somalia that the world’s shifted—from one where international law was something you could mostly count on, to one where countries can lob missiles at each other (and civilians) with abandon. “There is nothing left,” he added, referring to the international order.

Over on Somali Reddit, a thread quickly popped up dissecting what Israel’s strike might mean for Somalia. One user echoed Hirsi’s take, bluntly declaring it the “death of all international political norms.” Amoeba_Critical, who wrote the post, added: “This isn't good news for a country like Somalia who's current survival depends on said organisations.” Top-Distribution4739 looked for the silver-lining and said the war could be an opportunity for Somalia to “fly under the radar and grow”.

Much of Somali Twitter has leaned sympathetic to Iran, framing the strike as part of a broader, long-running strategy—led by Israel and the West—that began with the so-called War on Terror, ran through Gaza, and now targets Tehran: demolish, destabilise, dominate. @EIshmael_, one of the more prominent Somali Twitter users posted:

Somali analyst and long-time West-sceptic Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad had a message for Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian: pick a mode for resisting the US and its allies—North Korea or Libya. In a grim warning, he said Gaddafi’s downfall came from trusting the West, which smiled, shook hands, and then dismantled him. “History doesn’t remember the obedient. It remembers the defiant,” he posted.

A piece on Horn Pulse noted that Somalia is in a unique spot—it has no diplomatic ties with either side. Mogadishu rejects Israel on ideological grounds in solidarity with Palestine, and keeps its distance from Tehran, which, according to Horn Pulse, it sees as a “regional security threat” thanks to Iran’s proxy network. There is some truth to this. In an article for Asharq Al-Awsat, Somalia’s president said his country’s intelligence service had detected ties between the Houthis, an Iranian ally, and al-Shabaab and IS-Somalia. In that case, Somalia does indeed see Tehran as a problem for its own security. “Remaining outside this geopolitical tug-of-war helps Somalia focus on internal stability and national development,” the Horn Pulse article adds.

Elsewhere, that old clip of General Wesley Clark has been making the rounds again—the one where he rattles off a list of countries the US supposedly had lined up for regime change: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran. Analysts are split on whether Israel is aiming for regime change in Tehran or trying to spark a civil war but the salience of that clip suggests that some Somalis are inclined to the former.

Speaking of viral: shoutout to @vvsima, who observed that AI has hit the Somali community “like crack in the 80s.” Bad analogy? Possibly. But hard to argue when this week’s social feeds gave us a Somali ayeeyo airborne—with a selfie stick—trolling President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. If you haven’t seen it: do. Over on nationalist Somali Twitter, where Hassan Sheikh has few friends these days, @Deee_luul summed up the collective response with: “Allah caloosha 😂😂😂😂😂.” Rendered in English: “Oh God, my stomach”.

Welcome, if you haven’t heard—this is Acacia, Geeska’s weekly dispatch from the Horn and beyond. We bring you the news that matters to Somalis: from Mogadishu to Minneapolis, Hargeisa to Hounslow. East Africa is our backyard, but we’ll flag what’s driving conversations across the continent too. Think of it as your one-stop shop for all things us. (You’re welcome.)

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It’s been a big week. Good news is Iran and Israel’s shadow war is over. Bad news: they’re fighting in the open. Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad, a Somali analyst, has offered some fairly stark advice to Iran’s new president, Pezeshkian: follow the path of either Gaddafi or Kim Jong-un (the latter survived). Closer to home (and far less apocalyptic), Somali-British UFC fighter Muhidin Abubakar picked up a win in an interim bantamweight bout. Trump has also banned Somali passport holders again. Democrat Rep Ilhan Omar called it a “racist policy.” We’re not adding more. But here are the five stories we’re actually focusing on this week:

Online: “like crack” – Somali social media & AI

Somali social media is always at least 60% nonsense on a good day (this is a Geeska-estimate and doesn’t have an empirical basis). Lately, though, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube have been swallowed whole by what the tech crowd calls “AI slop”: low-quality, bizarre, deceptive and unusual content. The first big hit was a video of an old Somali lady piercing through the air with a selfie-stick, trolling a policy by Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as she said: “Rather than Hassan Sheikh digging me out of the grave, I have decided to bury myself in the air”. The old lady was referring to a decision last June, when the Somali government announced plans to exhume graves on the grounds of a former police academy—claiming the land was public and needed to be repurposed. The clip was posted by @kingofSomaliaa, a prominent Somali X user who opposes Hassan Sheikh, who helpfully captioned it: “Artificial intelligence can save you from corrupt ‘politicians’ 😂!”

Another AI fever dream: a Somali woman pulling up to a tuulo in a Ferrari. The clip—courtesy of TikTok’s @isra_873, who is a serial AI video offender—racked up nearly a million views before inevitably migrating to Twitter, where it continued doing numbers. We even have a Somali superhero boy (we liked this). And those are just a few examples. There’s a whole cottage industry now: people clearly prompting OpenAI for tweets, academic papers and images. The strangest case might be Somali Nexsus, a [well intentioned] YouTube channel churning out AI-generated podcasts and an entirely fictional Somali history series. Why shouldn’t you do this? Well, because the high court of Somali Reddit has reached an unambiguous verdict: “You cant trust ChatGPT when it comes to Somali History”. kriskringle8 another account posting there explained: since “everything online about Somalis and Somali history is incorrect,” and ChatGPT is trained on that, “of course it’ll get it wrong.”

No judgment here for users—and we aren’t luddites. Besides, some of this AI stuff is genuinely entertaining, like this AI-generated Somali nomad settlement… on Mars.

But there are serious implications: AI lets us supercharge our collective talent for twisting public debate, spreading propaganda, and—Somali social media being what it is—inciting against each other. There are almost no safeguards, even in “advanced” democracies. Tusaalahayaga: last year, Elon Musk shared a video of Kamala Harris—only it was partly fake. The European Union has even pushed Facebook and Google to start labelling AI-generated content. The Somali government, of course, and as usual, cannot do much, but Mohamed Ibrahim, a former Somali telecommunications minister attending UN Virtual Worlds Day 2025, told Acacia: “Somalis don’t muck around—they’re always early adopters, we dive right in.” But he added a caution: people need to understand “a lot of what they see may not be real, so public awareness needs to be improved.”

Politics: C6+: ctrl+alt+deleted

Continuing a tradition from the Farmaajo years, the Somali government has PNG’d the C6+ (US, UK, EU, AU, Igad, UN + Ethiopia, Kenya, Sweden)—a donor-heavy mini-forum of western(aligned) states built to liaise with Villa Somalia on big-ticket issues. Ali Omar (Balcad), state minister for foreign affairs and author of the letter to UN envoy James Swan (read here), dismissed the group as an “obsolete structure” that made sense in the 2010s but whose “logic no longer apply.” The UN was forced subsequently to distance itself from an offensive and fake response to Balcad circulating on Somali chat groups and the internet. Setting aside the dubious claim in the letter that Somalia is a “sovereign state with functional constitutional institutions,” Villa Somalia has been quietly seething for months. Its international partners keep pushing for good-faith engagement with the opposition, better results against al-Shabaab (which is currently storming “village after village”), and some effort—any effort—toward de-polarising Somali politics. When Hassan Sheikh Mohamud convened a trimmed-down [not so] National Consultative Council in early May, which is a forum that brings together Somalia’s federal leaders—the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland were missing—the US State department’s Africa Bureau stepped in with a quote tweet that read like a diplomatic slap: “Decisions taken without broad-based support will lack legitimacy and distract from pressing security challenges.”

Instead, Somalia has suffered what security expert Samira Gaid has characterised as “panicky and autocratic” rule, as Hassan Sheikh struggles to find terms on which he can engage his prospective competitors in the upcoming (s)election (is that part of the problem?). The backlash from his political opponents for giving the C6+ the boot has been even sharper. In true franchise fashion, they’ve assembled under the banner of the Somali Salvation Forum—an Avengers-style lineup featuring ex-PMs like Mohamed Hussein Roble and Hassan Ali Khaire, plus former president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The group issued a joint statement blasting the move as “reckless”. Rashid Abdi—a dependable critic of whoever’s in charge in Mogadishu—says the decision stems from “the ruling elites’ discontent with the so-called ‘liberal state-building project’ that puts them under foreign pressure, scrutiny and oversight.” MP and popular anti-corruption campaigner Abdillahi Hashi Abib also wasn’t having it. He questioned whether Balcad even had the constitutional authority to send the letter—then called the whole thing “diplomatically reckless and politically suicidal.”

Backing the president’s move were a fewer voices. Former minister Adam Aw Hirsi echoed the view that the C6+ format is outdated. Researcher Abdihakim Kalale looked further, interpreting Hassan Sheikh’s visit to the Oruç Reis seismic research vessel as a message to the West: “Just like Turks say ‘tam bağımsız Türkiye,’ [“a fully independent Türkiye”] it’s time for Somalis to say ‘Soomaaliya si buuxda u madax bannaan’ — “a fully independent Somalia,” he posted.

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Military: SNA enters ATAK mode

In what looked like a geopolitical bro hug, Türkiye has reportedly delivered three T129 ATAK helicopters to Somalia—a handover confirmed by footage on social media and a X post by Somalia’s point man for Turkish affairs (& transport minister), Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur:

“Teşekkürler Türkiye 🚁

Walaalnimadu ha waarto 🇸🇴🇹🇷”

The story was first broken by Middle East Eye’s Ragip Soylu, and the Somali army will now operate the aircraft, marking a shift away from years of near-exclusive US air ops. The delivery follows reports in March of Akinci drones arriving in Somalia, part of a steadily deepening Ankara–Mogadishu defence partnership.

Somalia’s drone story, meanwhile, has moved from open secret to just open. Turkish-made drones first slipped in around late 2021, during the Farmaajo-era. That was meant to be a more discreet delivery. Critics like then-presidential candidate (now MP) Abdirahman Abdishakur warned of Anatolian mission creep, urging Türkiye to make sure they weren’t arming an administration which might use the tools for other reasons. Under Hassan Sheikh (and like Sudan right now), drones have entered all corners of Somalia’s battlefields: Bayraktars helped coordinate SNA-clan militia offensives in Hiiraan and Galmudug. Puntland’s been capturing ISIS drones (and using its own), Somaliland factions are locked in a drone blame game, and now—with helicopters in the mix—Somalia’s wars aren’t just heating up, they’re taking flight.

Politics: Scott Perry with the Somaliland bill… again

Republican Congressman Scott Perry is back at it—reviving his bill in the House calling for US recognition of Somaliland. In a post on X he said: “For more than three decades, Somaliland demonstrated the kind of governance, stability, and cooperation that America should support”. Mursal Khaliif, a Somali MP and chairman of the parliament’s US friendship group said Perry is pushing this because of “lobbyist $$”. Perry first tried this in 2022, during then-Somaliland president Muse Bihi’s visit to DC. That effort got shot down by Biden—but it raised Somaliland’s profile in the US and even earned it a mention in a key US defence bill. Since then, GOP interest has only grown, with Somaliland pitching itself as a rare African opponent of China and a potential Red Sea asset for the US.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro), Somaliland’s current president, told the Guardian last week that: “Recognition is on the horizon”. Gavin Williamson—Tory MP and former defence minister whose close to Trump officials—has also chimed in, telling the Guardian: “Before President Trump’s term ends, the US will have recognised Somaliland”. He told The Independent the same thing last year but advised patience. And then there’s this curiously timed nugget from Al Majalla, the Saudi-owned, London-based outlet: apparently (anonymous diplomatic sources say), Somaliland and Israel are in talks—an Israeli military base in exchange for Somaliland recognition. There’s good reason to doubt it. Anyway, Somalia has mounted both a major lobbying and political campaign (and is even pitching oil) in Washington to hedge against the move but it appears with an erratic Trump administration the stakes are definitely higher than before. Geeska’s editor-in-chief Suhaib Mahmoud put it plainly in a recent piece: a “shift in the balance of power was inevitable in Somali affairs”—toward either Hargeisa or Mogadishu. And whichever way it tips, he argues, will decide how this three-decade political stalemate breaks.

Diaspora: Can you serve global justice with a Somali on the bench?

Bit of a sad one, and we don’t know much—but worth marking: Somali judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf has quietly stepped down from the International Court of Justice, the world’s top court. The statement the court released provided no explanation but did point out that his term was meant to end in February 2027.

What do we know about his time there? He joined the ICJ in 2009, got re-elected in 2018, served as vice president (2015–2018), then levelled up to president from 2018 to 2021. Top fella. Climbed the whole ladder at The Hague. On the bench, he didn’t pull his punches: voted to investigate Israel for genocide. Dissented when the court tried to toss Sudan’s genocide complicity case against the UAE. And pushed back on what he called the ICJ’s “judicial refashioning of geography” when the court stepped in on Kenya’s maritime dispute with Somalia. Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers, suspects the resignation might be linked to the Israel genocide case. If you want to get an idea of why that might be the case read this & this.

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Across the gees

• The “Global March to Gaza” convoy intended to break the siege has made it to Egypt—mostly. The linked Sumud Convoy is stuck in Libya. The goal? Pressure (and embarrass) Egypt’s inaction on Gaza. Their mission seems half-accomplished. Some activists have been deported. Group spokesperson Saif Abukeshek told AFP that 200 people were detained, and authorities were sweeping hotels for activists. Others who made it as far as the town of Ismailia weren’t so lucky—some were attacked, and had their passports confiscated (including Nelson Mandela’s grandson).

• Sudan’s army has moved part of its air force to Eritrea, per Egyptian outlet Mada Masr. The relocation follows a major drone strike by the RSF on Port Sudan in early May, targeting both civilian and military sites. We asked Eritrean researcher Mohamed Kheir Omer what it says about Khartoum’s ties with Asmara. He told Acacia: “this means Sudan’s army and Eritrea are very close”.

• The US ambassador to Ethiopia, Ervin Massinga, told state media that Washington supports Ethiopia’s sea access ambitions—just “through commercial means” and “peaceful, diplomatic contexts.” In other words: not the naval power grab Abiy seemed to be floating. Meanwhile, an old Jeune Afrique interview with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh resurfaced this week, in which he flatly shuts the door on Abiy’s plan: “we made clear to Addis Ababa that Djibouti was not Crimea.”

Africa

• General Michael Langley—head of Africom and exactly who you’d cast if the Terminator were played by an African-American actor (just listen)—says the US has bottled it in Africa. Africom is now weighing a withdrawal of the US military. The Sahel? “Epicenter of terrorism”, he says. Somalia? No real progress. In 2002, jihadist militants killed 23 people. Last year: 18,900. Not a great record anyway.

Tangents

• Najma Sharif Alawi, the Somali-American writer, reminds us: “Malcolm X’s centennial just passed, and Fanon’s is right around the corner.” A timely nudge.

• And tab this thoughtful interview between Dave Chappelle and Mo Amer, where they talk comedy, their friendship over the years, and what it means to be a Palestinian artist in the US right now:

And that’s a wrap for this week. Nabad gelyo.

Acacia is Geeska’s weekly newsletter. Each edition brings you clear reporting and sharp analysis from across the Somali territories, with added context to help make sense of what’s happening, what key players think and why it matters.

We also look beyond — to regional developments that shape the Horn more broadly — and finish with a curated selection of the best writing, photography, and stories from Geeska that week.

If you’d like a one-stop weekly update delivered straight to your inbox to deepen your understanding of the region, subscribe — and share the newsletter with friends and colleagues.

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