Key Somalia ruling party leader resigns, exposing rift with president
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Abdirahman Odowa, the secretary general of Somalia’s ruling Justice and Solidarity Party, resigned on Wednesday, delivering a sharp blow to the inner circle of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud just weeks before the end of his term. Once among the president’s most trusted allies, Mr. Odowa cited a deepening breakdown in leadership, accusing […]
Black News 
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Abdirahman Odowa, the secretary general of Somalia’s ruling Justice and Solidarity Party, resigned on Wednesday, delivering a sharp blow to the inner circle of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud just weeks before the end of his term.
Once among the president’s most trusted allies, Mr. Odowa cited a deepening breakdown in leadership, accusing Mr. Mohamud of sidelining party officials and state institutions while governing according to personal ambition rather than collective consensus.
In a detailed account of his decision, Mr. Odowa pointed to what he described as the systematic weakening of regional states, a unilateral overhaul of the constitution, and restrictions on members of parliament that he said violated their constitutional rights. He also accused the president of shaping an electoral process designed to secure his re-election, effectively excluding competitors and narrowing political space.
The resignation carries unusual weight. Mr. Odowa has long been central to Mr. Mohamud’s political fortunes, previously saying he played a decisive role in the president’s victories in 2012 and 2022, and backing his unsuccessful 2016 bid. His departure now underscores a striking reversal within a once tightly aligned leadership.
It follows closely behind the resignation of the party’s deputy leader, Abdiasis Laftagaren, as tensions escalate between the federal government and authorities in the Southwest state. Federal troops have been deployed to key towns in the region in what officials present as a security measure, but which critics see as an effort to remove Mr. Laftagaren from power, despite his attempts to consolidate control around Baidoa, the regional seat.
The fractures extend beyond the party’s top ranks. Other prominent figures, including former intelligence chief Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbalolshe, have grown increasingly critical of the president’s handling of political tensions in the Southwest. Critics accuse the administration of aggravating instability by deepening clan divisions in a region already marked by fragile coexistence.
For seasoned observers of Somalia’s politics, the moment feels familiar. As presidential terms near their end, alliances often fray, leaving leaders increasingly isolated. Inner circles contract, loyalties shift, and political blocs fragment under the pressures of an indirect electoral system shaped by negotiation, patronage, and competing ambitions.
This latest rupture comes at a particularly precarious time. While global attention remains fixed on tensions in the Middle East, Somalia faces mounting strain at home. A three-year campaign against Al-Shabaab has failed to deliver a decisive outcome, and political uncertainty is deepening as the government signals its intention to extend its mandate by one year. The speaker of parliament, Adan Madobe, has said the extension is grounded in a newly approved constitution, a claim that is already stirring fresh debate.
Taken together, the resignations and rising dissent point to a government under growing pressure, confronting both internal fragmentation and an increasingly uncertain political horizon.
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