Illegal State Asset Sales Deepen Somalia’s Political and Social Divisions

[Deeq A.]

A plot of state land in Mogadishu, repossessed by the Federal Government of Somalia, to be sold to politically connected businessmen without transparent rules.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — The Federal Government of Somalia evicted more than 800 families from plots of state land in Mogadishu. In 1991, when the state collapsed, Mogadishu experienced a wave of dispossessions and illegal occupation of properties. The four-month conflict (November 1991 – February 1992) in Mogadishu divided the city into North and South. It was during this period that the second wave of dispossessions occurred in both North and South Mogadishu.

The evictions enforced by the Federal Government of Somalia benefit businessmen close to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The politically connected businessmen purchased state lands. The process of selling these lands has not been transparent. Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and Abdirahman Abdishakur, a former minister and now an MP, wrote a joint letter warning businesses not to buy state assets being sold by the incumbent federal government in violation of the rules.

In 2022, President Mohamud appointed a committee tasked with retrieving national assets. However, this committee has never functioned. The arbitrary sale of state assets for political reasons violates the law. Somalia is a country whose institutions are supported by the international community, which funds peacekeeping forces. For this reason, the maxims of equity are the appropriate legal tools to challenge the illegality of evictions and the sale of state assets.

The separation of powers and an independent judiciary—two core components of the rule of law — do not exist in Somalia. Additionally, Somalia ranks 180th on the Corruption Perceptions Index, making it the most corrupt country in the world. The state is under the control of a government whose leaders are enriching themselves and their supporters. No court has sanctioned the evictions in Mogadishu or the sale of state assets.

The maxim “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands” underscores that a corrupt government that politicises the security forces and judiciary has no legal powers to sell state assets. As the three political leaders emphasised in their joint statement, any businessmen who purchase government assets would be engaging in illegal transactions with a government acting unlawfully.

The intention of selling government assets illegally is to enrich certain politicians and their business associates. The equity maxim “Equity looks to the intent rather than the form” invalidates any sales of Somali state assets in Mogadishu to businesses. Furthermore, the principle “Equity will not allow a statute to be used as an instrument of fraud” challenges the misuse of eviction laws to transfer state land to businesses for corrupt purposes.

The government-sanctioned sale of state assets in Mogadishu poses a threat to social cohesion and the peaceful coexistence of Somalis. A corrupt government lacks the legal authority to sell state property arbitrarily or to evict citizens without wider consultations and consensus.

© Puntland Post, 2025

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