Somalia appoints Hussein Qasim Yusuf as new immigration agency director

Monday April 13, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Council of Ministers on Monday named Hussein Qasim Yusuf as the new Director General of the Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA), ending Mustaf Sheikh Ali Dhuxulow’s tenure at the helm.

The cabinet approved the appointment during its weekly meeting after a recommendation from the Ministry of Internal Security.

The government said the leadership change is part of broader reforms designed to reinforce Somalia’s security institutions and improve immigration and citizenship services. No official explanation was offered for Dhuxulow’s dismissal. He had led the agency since Dec. 12, 2024.

Yusuf arrives with a lengthy record in government. He served as Minister of the Presidency in Galmudug State from 2015 to 2017 and later represented Somalia’s House of the People from 2017 to 2026. He also chaired the Parliamentary Monitoring Committee for the Review and Implementation of the Constitution, a body central to the country’s constitutional reform process.

The Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency oversees passports, visas, residency permits and border control systems, placing it at the center of national security, public administration and the facilitation of international travel.

Officials said the appointment is meant to speed up institutional reforms, improve public service delivery and strengthen the credibility and efficiency of Somalia’s immigration system as wider governance and security reforms continue.