Relations between the federal government and federal member states remain poor in 2019, more than a year after leaders from all five states formally suspended ties with the government in Mogadishu.
In October 2019, opposition leader Abdallah Ahmed Ibrahim “Afwaranle” wrote to international donors seeking support for the establishment of independent courts. Officials at the Office of the President reportedly paid monthly bribes to some media owners and directors not to publish “unfavourable” stories.One former media director said: “I used to get a phone call from the official at the Office of the President and would meet with him at a hotel and collect the cash from him. A surge in violent attacks, threats, harassment and intimidation of media workers is entrenching Somalia as one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist, Amnesty International said today.“Somali journalists are under siege. However, citizens have experienced modest gains in civil liberties in recent years as the government and international troops have reclaimed territory from the Shabaab. Corruption reportedly played a major role in the elections and the operations of the legislature once constituted.The electoral framework in use for the most recent parliamentary elections did not provide for universal suffrage. Awil Dahir Salad of Universal TV was killed in an Al-Shabaab car bomb attack in Mogadishu in December 2018. Shabaab and militants associated with the Islamic State (IS) manage elaborate corruption and taxation schemes, placing tremendous pressure on business owners and inhibiting free operations. Travel is further hampered by the presence of checkpoints controlled by security forces, militants, and other armed groups that commonly extract arbitrary fees and bribes from travelers. For the fourth year, Somalia in 2018 topped the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index, with 25 unresolved cases of journalist murders. Members of the 54-seat upper house were elected in 2016 and 2017 by state assemblies, while the lower house was elected under a system in which 135 clan elders chose 275 electoral colleges, each of which had 51 people and elected one lawmaker. He never allowed to deposit the money in my bank account.”Journalists interviewed said their editors ordered them not to write articles critical of the offices of the President and Prime Minister, or about insecurity, corruption, and human rights violations.Amnesty International documented four cases of journalists fired by their employers for defying censorship orders.“The quest for a positive image has led the authorities in Somalia to embrace repressive tactics that fly in the face of international human rights standards. Women do not enjoy equal rights to inherit property and are often denied the assets to which they are legally entitled due to discriminatory norms.Sexual violence remains a major problem, especially for displaced persons. The RSF, which produces an index on press freedom every year, says Somalia is at position 163 out of 180 countries polled in 2020. In May, the Somali government arrested Ali Adan Mumin of Goobjoog Media Group for “insulting public officials, disrupting government work, and spreading propaganda.” Despite a regional court decision ordering his release the next day, Mumin was held several days longer before being released. Meanwhile, in October, the country’s auditor general released a critical report accusing the government of bypassing the central bank to keep $18 million worth of donor funds in offshore accounts.Government transparency is limited.