MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared on Tuesday that his choice to build either multi-story buildings or huts is a personal affair, amid intensifying allegations that he is amassing wealth by selling off public land to affluent businessmen.
“Whether I build a hut, a tin-house, or a three- to four-story building, it is a personal matter; it has no bearing on the Somali mother who simply desires a free education for her child,” Mohamud said.
The Somali president, who has faced accusations of rampant corruption and nepotism in both his previous and current terms—allegedly enriching those in the upper echelons at the expense of the masses—made his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for a luxury neighborhood being developed by wealthy businessmen on land he sold during his current tenure.
The Somali president’s remarks have once again ignited controversy, with many saying his words undermine the suffering masses, exhausted by corruption, conflict, and poverty. He has also recently defended the practice of government officials hiring their own children for positions that should be accessible to other members of the community.
Mohamud has become the first Somali president to openly legitimize what many view as corruption and nepotism in a nation consistently ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt and poorest, with the practice showing no signs of abating and further crippling fragile state-building efforts that remain heavily dependent on foreign aid to make any progress.
Since assuming office again in 2022, he has sold off dozens of public lands, including markets, military camps, and government buildings, displacing impoverished citizens only to transfer ownership to wealthy, influential tycoons. Additionally, he has signed oil exploration contracts with multiple countries, the details of which remain undisclosed to Parliament, while awarding all lucrative government contracts to his children, relatives, and close associates.
