by STEPHEN ASTARIKOMonday June 8, 2026 East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Falhada Iman Dekow speaking to the press in Garissa town on Sunday. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO A video of Garissa Governor Nathif Jama speaking with a patient at Garissa County Referral Hospital has thrust the Social Health Authority (SHA) programme back into the spotlight, prompting fresh questions over whether the government's health push is delivering on its promise. The clip, recorded on Friday and circulated widely on social media over the…

Mohamed Gabobe, MogadishuSunday June 7, 2026 Fighters from the Union of Islamic Courts took control of Mogadishu in June 2006 For Yusuf Ali, the sounds of Mogadishu’s past have never really gone away. The 34-year-old shopkeeper still lives with the memories of being drawn into Somalia’s insurgency as a child soldier, fighting in the streets of the capital while the city around him descended into ruin. As Mogadishu gradually rebuilds, the psychological wounds left by years of war remain largely untreated. Few services are…

Sunday June 7, 2026 Addis Ababa (AX) — Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia says Mogadishu is determined to extend federal authority across every part of Somali territory, including Hargeisa and Berbera, as tensions flare again over North Western State of Somalia’s disputed status. Speaking to Al Jazeera this week, Ambassador Abdullahi Mohamed Warfa said the federal government is rebuilding state institutions and bolstering the national army so that federal authority can reach all regions of the country. “Northern Somalia is…

Sunday June 7, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission has started taking in candidates for the Southwest State presidential election, marking the formal launch of the region’s race for leadership. One of the first to file was Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a former president of Southwest State, who was handed his certificate of candidacy by the commission. Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe, speaker of the House of the People of Somalia’s Federal Parliament, also received his…

By Abdirahim Husu MohamedSunday June 7, 2026 History offers a blunt warning: societies rarely dread order; they dread disruption. Yet time and again, nations that have managed to remake themselves have done so by moving through uncertainty on the way to lasting stability and growth. From the Industrial Revolution to the shift from monarchy to democracy, from the end of apartheid to sweeping economic reform, change has almost always arrived with unease. It unsettles people. It invites resistance. It can sharpen political…

Sunday June 7, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Banadir regional police on Saturday showcased a cache of weapons and military vehicles they said were recovered from Mirinaayo neighborhood in Abdiaziz district, where former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had recently been staying. Banadir Regional Police Commander Col. Mahdi Omar Mumin told reporters the haul included 17 BKM machine guns, five RPG launchers, one sniper rifle, one PTM, 14 vehicles, an undisclosed number of AK-47 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition. Mahdi…

Sunday June 7, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The Somali Salvation Forum said Saturday it had received indications that security forces were preparing to move against the Mogadishu home of former Somali National Army commander Gen. Odowaa Yusuf Raage. In a statement, the opposition alliance alleged that forces under the command of Aden Mohamed Omar, widely known as Aadan Dheere, and backed by personnel from security agencies were lining up an assault on Odowaa’s residence in Abdiaziz district. The claims could not be independently…

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia’s political standoff sharpened on Sunday after former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed accused the federal government of cutting off basic services, blocking movement and turning security forces against opponents amid an escalating dispute over the country’s elections. Speaking at a news conference in Mogadishu alongside another former leader, Farmajo, Sharif said the authorities had disconnected electricity and water to the compound where he was staying, stopped food from being delivered and barred…

The gunfire that rattled Mogadishu was more than another burst of Somalia’s long-running insecurity. It marked the first armed eruption of a constitutional fight that has been simmering for more than two years. On the surface, the confrontation centers on elections, a subject that has repeatedly upended Somali politics. The federal government says constitutional reforms and electoral changes are needed to move the country toward universal suffrage. The opposition, by contrast, accuses President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of using…

Sunday June 7, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Sunday accused the federal government of tightening pressure on the opposition by restricting his movement, cutting off essential services to his compound and suppressing political activity in the wake of deadly violence in the capital. At a news conference in Mogadishu, Sharif said electricity, water and food deliveries to his residence had been halted, while visitors were being turned away at the gate. “We have had our electricity cut off,…