Greed or Grievances: The Gedo Conundrum

This brief examines how Gedo became a key battleground for the center- periphery rift in Somalia’s federal politics. It investigates FGS control of Gedo, the complications and challenges surrounding the holding of elections in Gedo, and the triggers of the Gedo dispute: including unaddressed grievances, a lack of state-level security presence, and greed-induced motivations. The brief also puts forward several policy considerations.

Lessons from Somalia’s 2021 Upper House Elections

Lessons from Somalia’s 2021 Upper House Elections

After about three and half months, the election of the Upper House’s 54 members has been completed. However, the electoral process has not been undertaken without flaws. It empowered the presidents of Federal Member States (FMS) to submit a list of candidates for each…

A comparative review of Somalia’s controversial Sexual Offences Bills

A comparative review of Somalia’s controversial Sexual Offences Bills

There has been controversy surrounding the development of new legislation in Somalia addressing sexual offences, at a time when incidences of rape and other sexual violence have become rampant and impunity is pervasive. Two different bills on sexual offences have been drafted by different…

Examining the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Mogadishu

Examining the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Mogadishu

Soon after the first few cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Somalia, schools and higher education institutions were forced to close down their campuses in a bid to reduce infections. Universities explored online teaching as an alternative approach to continue…