Actually, Who is in Charge of Somaliland’s Presidency?
Violence and lawlessness have prevailed since President Abdirahman Cirro took office. This week, a masked gunman killed two young adults at a busy bus station in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The killer remains at large. Initially, no press conference from the Minister of Security, police Chief, or the Hargeisa Mayor. The situation remains tense. The relatives demand answers from the government. There are demonstrations across several towns because of the slow response to these murders and the arrest of a sub-clan leader advocating justice for the victims.
The police have not arrested or questioned any suspects or witnesses for these murders. The Cirro administration is trying to sweep the murders under the rug, but the families have refused to bury the victims until the police bring justice to the perpetrator or perpetrators.
However, it should not be politicized the callous failure of Cirro administration or the Mayor of Hargeisa in handling these murders. It should be respected the victims and hold their funeral expeditiously regardless of the outcome of the police investigation, which could take time.
Instead of solving murders, the Cirro administration deployed sycophant cabinet Ministers and a rogue sub-clan elders as a surrogate, to wage a smear campaign against elders demanding answers from law enforcement—a tactic that he used repeatedly in the past to sow division among communities–where clan divisions remain explosive
Moreover, recently, two people died after police fired upon people demonstrating against a Chinese funded mining company for precious and rare metals in clashes with communal farmers and pastoralists in Agabar Township northwest Somaliland.
Many voters have serious concerns about the security and public safety of the country since Cirro took office. They feel “buyer’s remorse” because Cirro is not up to the job. Cirro’s inability to address the lawlessness, violence ravaging the nation, and the blatant interference of Somaliland territorial integrity by the weak Mogadishu government and their tribal proxy in East Sool, illustrate that he is either incapable or someone else is running the presidency.
So, if Cirro is not actually running the government, who is?
There are, of course, the people around Cirro. Some of his family members—like his wife, Fardus Robleh, who toured the DP World run Berbera port right after Cirro’s inauguration; Cousin Jama “Gabuush” Abdillahi, —who have been especially close since he won the presidential election; and Rhoda Abdillahi, Jama’s sister, a nurse aide, whose husband became a deputy Government Minister, and she bought a 10-bedroom house in “Isha Boorama’ ward, right after Cirro took office. She used to live in a shanty two-bedroom rental apartment near Hargeisa Central prison.
Somaliland citizens elected Cirro and not Gabuush or his wife. The public wants to know his title and capacity. They have the right to know what Gabuush is doing at the Somaliland presidential office or Foreign Ministry. Did he work for the Somaliland government, or President Cirro? What is his position? Is he an agent for the so-called Federal Government?
Jama Gabuush, Somalia apologist, is a man with a shady background and corrupt business and political ties to the so-called Federal Government in Mogadishu, UNSOM, Christian faith based NGOs, private contractors, who run parallel governments to undermine self governance of African countries..His biggest business plan is to make the area surrounding Hargeisa airport and a beachfront real estate in Berbera a highly fortified posts like the “ Halane” of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.
Many people believe that Gabuush is running the country and is the de facto leader of Somaliland. His political objective is to make Somaliland a poor member state of the failing Federal Republic of Somalia. So far, he is succeeding using Cirro’s election as a conduit to accomplish that goal.
Gabuush calls the shots for both domestic and foreign policies, effectively running the foreign Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Investment. He has sidelined the Foreign Minister. For instance, Cirro/Gabuush chartered a new roadmap to undermine Somaliland’s quest for diplomatic recognition, using the Somaliland government as a vehicle to solicit cash from rich Arab Gulf countries, including Qatar, a country funding the destruction of Somaliland as we know it.
On the business side, his main objective is to use the Somaliland government as a cash cow as previous corrupt Kulmiye party administrations did. Jama Gabuush is signing shady investment and mining deals. For instance, on May 12, 2025, the President Cirro signed a $100 million agriculture project agreement with US based African Food Security (AFS) at Banka Salahley, outskirts of Hargeisa, despite shady AFS Agricultural project deals in Senegal that went sour. After strong opposition from activists, local farmers and pastoralists against the plan because of lack of consultation, Cirro/Gabuush shelved the project until further notice.
Cirro/Gabuush never believed in the rule of law, our constitution or Somaliland independence, undermining peace and security. Under the direction from Gabuush, Cirro/Gabuush administration fired hundreds of officers who had decades of experience protecting the homeland because they belonged to former President Bihi Sub-clan. Nineteen officers are still languishing in Somaliland jails without charges.
The officers gallantly served our country. The media is calling for the immediate release of the 19 officers. Their arrests are a hugely repressive move and risk moving Somaliland into a police state and toward authoritarianism. They must be released and if there are charges against them it must be dropped.
Their arrests are nothing more than a distraction and noise to cover the failure of Cirro/Gabuush administration to secure public safety, cracking down on terrorists and their Radical Ictisaam sympathizers, restoring law and order, and protect the territorial integrity of Somaliland from blatant attack and interference emanating from the weak Mogadishu government and their proxy militias in Eastern Sool region.
The Cirro/Gabuush relationship reminds the public of that relationship between the late Somali dictator Siad Barre and his cousin Abdirahman Barre, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, the same job Jama Gabuush is holding now. But we know how that regime ended!
For this week’s murders, it would be a gross injustice to the victims and their families if our law enforcement fails to hold the perpetrator or perpetrators accountable. If justice is not administered for the victims and their families, people will take matters into their own hands’ Vigilante Justice”, resulting in mob violence. That would be a tragedy and we must avoid it at any cost.
For this week’s murders, it would be a gross injustice to the victims and their families if our law enforcement fails to hold the perpetrator or perpetrators accountable. If justice is not administered for the victims and their families, people will take matters into their own hands’ Vigilante Justice”, resulting in mob violence. That would be a tragedy and we must avoid it at any cost.
We will not see justice until the government arrests, indict and convict the perpetrators or perpetrators of this heinous crime. In the past, candidate Cirro funded, aided and abetted the insurrection in East Sool and the police killers at Gacan Libaax ambush. But this time, President Cirro has to choose: either he is with the criminals or with the victims. He can’t have it both ways!
Finally, If Cirro is in charge of the Somaliland presidency, he should commit himself to the Somaliland agenda on which he was elected—his constitutional duty to protect and defend Somaliland and put the interest of the country ahead of his family’s interests. He must make a choice between serving Somaliland people’s interests or his family’s.
May Allah Bless Somaliland
Ali-Guban Mohamed, Founder and Editor Guban Media email: Aliadm18@gmail.com