Opinions

Opinion: 20 years of learning: A model for scaling waste systems in Africa

As Western Indian Ocean countries prepare to gather in Tanzania ahead of the COP 12 to the UNEP Nairobi Convention, this year's conference theme will look back at the organisation's 40-year journey to safeguard Africa's marine and coastal environments. To mark this occasion, Sustainable…

Somalia's Federal Member States Aren't Defending Sovereignty — They're Defending Their Patrons - No One in This Fight Is Neutral

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On September 13, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre held a farewell meeting for Türkiye's outgoing ambassador, Alper Aktaş, thanking him for his service and calling Türkiye "a close friend and brotherly country." In the weeks around it, protesters in…

The Legal Case of Somaliland Secession from Somalia

Abstract

The Map Got Bigger, But Somalia's Borders Didn't: Visual Scale and the Fractured Reality of Horn of Africa Sovereignty

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — Somalia just gained a massive upgrade on the world stage — but only on paper.

Somalia: How Mogadishu Removes a Regional President. It Costs Cash, or It Costs an Army

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — No president of a Somali federal member state has ever left office through a clean election. In three states over eight years, Mogadishu has removed sitting presidents using one of two methods: pay them to go, or send the army. Two of those states are voting again…

Somalia: The Killer Who Was Also a Journalist — And the Method That Didn't Die With Him

On April 11, 2016, a firing squad at a police academy in Mogadishu killed Hassan Hanafi Hajji. He had been one of Somalia's most trusted radio voices. For nearly ten years, he used that trust to help al-Shabaab.

A Government With One Foot Out the Door: Somalia's Foreign Passport Crisis

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) — On June 24, 2026, Somalia's Second Deputy Prime Minister, Jibril Abdirashid Haji, arrived at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport aboard a flight from Mogadishu. Kenyan immigration officers stopped him at the gate. His Kenyan passport, they said,…

Op-ED: Precedent Hassan's political strategy and reoccurring Somali political crises

In April 2021, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was among the most vocal opposition figures demanding that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmaajo, respect the constitution. The Lower House had just passed a resolution extending Farmaajo's term by two years, citing security conditions too volatile…

Somalia Declares National Mourning for Qatar's Father Amir

By: Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow

Op-Ed: Using African schools to create sustainable communities

In many African countries, ambitious policies and strategies are being developed to support the transition to a circular economy. Yet despite growing awareness and investment, many interventions struggle to achieve sustained impact at community level. The starting point might just be via one of Africa's…