After a first term marred by accusations of corruption and infighting, former President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud is once again at the head of this fragile country in the Horn of Africa.
From hope to disappointment
Nothing predestined Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, 67, to go into politics. The man who grew up under the dictatorship of Siad Barre could not have that kind of ambition in Somalia. He first trained at the Somali National University before earning a master’s degree in technical education from Bhopal University in India.
In 2011, the man enters the public arena and forms his political party, Peace and Development. He succeeds, one year laterto get elected as head of state and raises all hopes in a country plagued by years of instability and chaos. His government is thus the first to benefit from worldwide recognition and billions of euros in international aid since the fall of the authoritarian regime in 1991. Despite all the support, its record is very disappointing. Its opponents as well as its supporters denounce the continuation of corruption and infighting.
A second chance
From the powerful Hawiye clan, majority in the capital Mogadishu, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud nevertheless managed to get elected in 2022 for a second term. Unheard of in Somalia. Her re-election looks more like a rejection of incumbent President Farmajo than a plebiscite. It is a second chance for him to prove himself and lead differently. Long disputes have pitted him in the past against two of the three Prime Ministers and the leaders of the central bank because of of corruption allegations that have surrounded his administration. The new president promises to unify the country shaken by a long political crisis.
Drought and insurgency
Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud will face several major challenges. Somalia is facing a historic drought with the risk of famine. There is also the problem of the insurrection of the radical Islamists shebabs. Those same who had attempted to assassinate him during his first term. Affiliated with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, they remain very harmful in the country.
Once again, he has the support of the international community. Just after his re-election on May 15, 2022, Washington announced the re-establishment of an American military presence in Somalia to fight the jihadists there.
