Renowned Somali singer Shankaroon Ahmed Yusuf dies in United States

Sunday April 12, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s music community is mourning the death of Shankaroon Ahmed Yusuf, better known as Sagal, one of the best-known voices of the celebrated Waaberi band. She died Saturday in the United States, where she had lived for several years, after reportedly being ill.

Shankaroon first gained national recognition in the 1970s, during a period when Somalia’s state-backed arts scene was flourishing. She went on to become a key member of the Somali National Army band, which later joined with Radio Mogadishu’s ensemble to create the iconic Waaberi troupe.

Her passing has drawn tributes from fellow artists who remembered her as a distinctive singer whose work connected with Somali audiences across generations.

Khadijo Foodey, a veteran performer who worked alongside her, said she first encountered Shankaroon’s voice while traveling through northern Somalia with a stage production called Wad iyo Wacad. The troupe was in Boorama when it received a cassette of Shankaroon singing.

“When we listened to her sweet and melodious voice, we agreed she must join the arts,” Foodey said. She added that poet Mohamed Ali Kaariye, who was with the group, insisted Shankaroon be taken to Mogadishu and recorded professionally.

Shankaroon later relocated to the capital and joined the Somali National Army band. When that group merged with the Radio Mogadishu ensemble to form Waaberi, she became part of the nationally admired troupe based at the National Theatre.

Throughout her career, she performed at major national celebrations, including the annual October Revolution festival, and interpreted songs written by some of Somalia’s leading poets, among them Hassan Qawdhan, Mohamed Adan Dacar and Mohamed Ali Kaariye.

Foodey remembered her as a modest and generous presence. “She was a person of good morals who never separated herself from others,” she said, adding that Shankaroon treated fellow artists with kindness and respect.

Shankaroon and Kaariye later married before eventually separating. Foodey said many of Kaariye’s songs were inspired by his love for her. One of them, “Haba Baran Lahayadaa,” was later performed by Foodey herself.

Before Shankaroon’s death, members of the Waaberi community in the United States had gathered for a regular meeting known as “Kulanka Waaberi,” where they prayed for her recovery after learning of her illness. Her death was reported shortly afterward.

Shankaroon Ahmed Yusuf’s voice belonged to Somalia’s golden era of music, when poetry, theatre and song helped define the country’s cultural identity. Her legacy lives on in the recordings and performances that continue to shape Somali artistic memory.