Former NISA director rejects Hassan Sheikh’s plan to name Beledweyne Hirshabelle capital
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Former Somali intelligence chief Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloolshe has rejected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s proposal to designate Beledweyne as the capital of Hirshabelle, saying the president has no legal mandate to unilaterally decide an issue central to the region’s political future.
In a statement published on Facebook, Sanbaloolshe addressed remarks Mohamud delivered in Jowhar on Saturday. He said Hirshabelle’s capital was neither a concession the president could grant to Hiiraan residents nor an issue that could be resolved through political pledges.
According to Sanbaloolshe, the question of the capital and the region’s wider political direction must be settled through negotiations among Hirshabelle’s communities, particularly those in Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle.
He accused the federal government of intruding into responsibilities constitutionally assigned to federal member states, maintaining that Hirshabelle’s future should be determined through an inclusive agreement among its people.
The former National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) director also blamed Mohamud for contributing significantly to the political divisions in Hirshabelle. He argued that the president could not now cast himself as the answer to a crisis he had helped create.
Sanbaloolshe said the president had also failed to address long-running grievances in Hiiraan, issues that have been publicly championed by traditional leader Ugaas Yusuf Ugaas Hassan.
He identified two elements of Mohamud’s speech as especially concerning.
First, Sanbaloolshe objected to what he described as the president’s characterization of Hiiraan’s people. He said the remarks could be understood as suggesting that the community was untrustworthy and needed guarantees from other groups.
Such an approach, he warned, could widen mistrust instead of resolving the grievances behind Hirshabelle’s political tensions.
The second issue, he said, was the apparent confusion over the respective powers of Somalia’s federal government and federal member states.
Sanbaloolshe maintained that federal involvement in regional affairs was weakening attempts to secure a political settlement and strengthen unity within Hirshabelle.
Mohamud’s proposal to make Beledweyne the state capital comes against a backdrop of persistent disputes over political representation, administrative structures and the allocation of power between Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle.
Hirshabelle was established in 2016 and has since experienced repeated disagreements over its leadership and the distribution of political influence between the two regions.
The issue has again come to the fore as residents and political figures from Hiiraan continue to demand greater representation and action on their longstanding grievances.
Sanbaloolshe urged Hirshabelle’s communities to decide independently on their political future, leadership and the location of the state capital.
He said any resolution should reflect the people’s will and result from an inclusive political agreement, rather than a unilateral declaration by federal authorities.
The federal government has not issued a public response to Sanbaloolshe’s latest criticism.
AXADLETM
