Somalia’s opposition leaders have turned against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud after his overnight dismissal of Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed triggered a fresh constitutional confrontation, with government troops reportedly deployed around the Supreme Court in Mogadishu.
Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed led the criticism on Thursday, accusing Mohamud of undermining judicial independence and using state institutions to advance political interests after the judiciary issued two rulings challenging major decisions by his administration.
The opposition’s intervention came amid reports that security forces had surrounded the Supreme Court following its rejection of Baashe’s dismissal and a separate decision declaring the extension of the president’s term by one year unlawful.
Speaking at a news conference in Mogadishu, Sharif described the removal of Baashe as unconstitutional, arguing that the president had failed to follow the procedures required to dismiss the head of the judiciary.
He warned that interfering with the courts threatened the separation of powers and could weaken the country’s institutions at a time when Somalia was already facing a major political crisis.
Sharif defends Supreme Court after rulings against president
Sharif welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision rejecting the application of constitutional amendments extending presidential and parliamentary terms to the current administration.
The former president argued that the ruling reinforced the need for government officials to respect constitutional procedures rather than make unilateral decisions that could undermine the country’s institutions.
He also criticised the removal of Baashe, maintaining that the president could not independently dismiss a senior judicial official without following the legally prescribed process.
Sharif warned that using government institutions to pursue political interests could further erode public confidence in the justice system and deepen the divisions surrounding the country’s constitutional transition.
Opposition lawmaker Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame also criticised Mohamud, accusing him of worsening Somalia’s political and security challenges through decisions made without sufficient consultation.
Warsame pointed to the conclusion of the United Nations political mission’s mandate and plans for the withdrawal of foreign troops supporting security operations as developments that reflected the challenges facing the government.
He also raised concerns about reports of a one-year timeline for the withdrawal of some foreign forces, arguing that Somalia was experiencing declining international support as political disagreements continued.
Troops deployed around Supreme Court after dramatic rulings
The opposition statements followed reports that government troops had been deployed in large numbers around the Supreme Court on Thursday, shortly after the judiciary issued decisions challenging the presidency.
A senior Supreme Court judge told BBC Somali that security forces had taken positions around the court and that Baashe had been ordered to leave the premises.
The judge also disclosed that the court’s official Facebook page, which had previously been used to publish rulings and institutional statements, had gone offline.
The circumstances surrounding the security deployment and the disappearance of the court’s social media page could not immediately be independently verified.
The reported developments came less than 24 hours after Mohamud announced that he had dismissed Baashe and reinstated former Chief Justice Ibrahim Idle Suleiman.
The presidency had cited complaints from judges, judicial staff and legal professionals about the administration of justice as the reason for the leadership change.
However, the Supreme Court rejected the dismissal, declaring it null and void and accusing the president of attempting to obstruct a constitutional case already before the judiciary.
“The dismissal announced in the statement published on the Presidency’s Facebook page is null and void,” the court said.
It further accused the presidency of seeking to interfere with proceedings involving a petition filed by Sharif challenging amendments to Somalia’s Constitution.
Court also rules against Hassan Sheikh’s extended presidency
In a separate decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Mohamud’s presidential mandate had expired in May 2026 and that constitutional amendments approved in March could not be applied retrospectively to extend his current term.
The ruling directly challenged the government’s position that the president could remain in office until May 2027 under the revised constitutional framework.
The amendments had extended presidential and parliamentary terms from four to five years, but opposition parties and several regional leaders rejected their application to the current administration.
The government has maintained that the revised Constitution provides the legal foundation for its electoral timetable, which schedules parliamentary elections for April 15, 2027, followed by a presidential election on May 15.
Opposition groups, including the Somali Future Council, have rejected the timetable and demanded a negotiated political agreement on the country’s electoral arrangements.