Somalia's UNGA80 Delegation to New York: A Family Vacation Disguised as Diplomacy

by: Ahmed Mohamed | 29 August 2025 01:41

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Somalia's UNGA80 Delegation to New York: A Family Vacation Disguised as Diplomacy

NAIROBI, Kenya (HORN OBSERVER) - A leaked list of Somalia's official delegation to the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September is causing uproar—and for good reason.

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President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is also sending his daughter (pictured) and his son to New York.

NAIROBI, Kenya (HORN OBSERVER) - A leaked list of Somalia's official delegation to the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September is causing uproar—and for good reason.

According to documents sent to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi on August 16 for visa applications, Somalia is dispatching a 32-member team to New York.

On the list: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, his daughter, and his son, his cousin MP, and even a nephew's husband.

Clearly, this isn’t just about state business; it’s starting to look like a family field trip funded by taxpayers.

The surprises don’t stop there. Four people on the list are married couples. Yes—husbands and wives, heading together to one of the most expensive cities on earth, for 15 days, on government expense.

Add to that two deputy prime ministers—probably fleeing the boredom of Mogadishu’s concrete-protected offices—the president’s chief of protocol’s husband (who also happens to be an MP), plus a parade of employees with no UN-related duties whatsoever.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Somalia is struggling to pay the salaries of civil servants, soldiers, and teachers as announced last week, yet the government is somehow ready to bankroll a two-week stay for 32 people in New York—where even a cup of coffee costs more than a day’s wage back home.

Even more troubling, critics warn that some names on the list may not return at all. The fear? This could be a cover for irregular migration—or worse, human trafficking. Other fragile states have seen official delegations "vanish” abroad, and Somalia’s weak oversight makes it fertile ground for the same trick.

Meanwhile, ordinary Somalis face tougher visa restrictions after the U.S. slapped the country back on its travel ban list under Donald Trump’s new immigration rules.

Somalia consistently ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world, where crimes like money laundering, nepotism, and looting public funds rarely see a courtroom.

To many, this bloated UNGA80 delegation isn’t just a diplomatic embarrassment—it’s the latest episode in a long-running drama where public office is treated like a family business, and taxpayers are stuck footing the bill.

READ THE NAMES ON THE DELEGATION BELOW