Key takeaways
- Somalia's Supreme Court declared the chief justice's dismissal null and void and ruled President Mohamud's term extension unlawful, AFP reported.
- No government response to the rulings had been reported by Thursday, and the court has no obvious enforcement arm.
- Eastleigh Voice and FTL Somalia report a 30-day deadline for an election framework and elections within 90 days.
Somalia's Supreme Court on Thursday 5 November declared President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's dismissal of Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed "null and void", according to the Standard, a Kenyan news outlet. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the court also ruled the extension of the president's term unlawful. It held that the March constitutional amendments "did not apply to his current term" and that Mohamud "should have left office in May."
The presidency had announced the dismissal late on Wednesday 4 November on its Facebook page. It cited complaints from judges, judicial staff and legal professionals and promised broader judicial reforms. The statement named no allegation against Baashe and did not mention the constitutional case pending before the court. Eastleigh Voice reported that the Supreme Court declared the dismissal null and void, and no public response from the presidency to that rejection has been recorded in the reports available. No available source records a government reaction to the term ruling.
What the judges said
The court's statement said: "The dismissal announced in the statement published on the Presidency's Facebook page is null and void." Eastleigh Voice reported that the court said the president had no constitutional authority to dismiss the chief justice, since the constitution sets out specific procedures for removing the head of the judiciary. Ftlsomalia.com reported that it cited Article 138, which requires a proposal from the Judicial Service Commission and approval by both houses of Parliament. The court said the move was designed "to obstruct the administration of justice in the constitutional case filed before the Supreme Court" (AFP). It dismissed claims that judges had complained about Baashe, Eastleigh Voice reported. According to Hiiraan, the court accused the president of interfering with the case before it.
That case began on 11 October, when former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed asked the court to invalidate the amendments. Parliament approved them on 4 March while Puntland, Jubaland and opposition parties boycotted. Mohamud argues the extension is legal under them. His rivals call it a power grab (AFP).
FTL Somalia, which gave the fuller reasoning, said the five-member Constitutional Division rejected Sharif's challenge to the amendment process for lack of standing. It accepted his challenge to measures flowing from the changes. FTL reported that the sitting institutions kept their original four-year mandates. It gave expiry dates of 14 April for parliament and government and 15 May for the president. Eastleigh Voice reports that political stakeholders must agree an electoral framework within 30 days and that elections must be organised within 90 days. The AFP copy does not mention either. The government's own plan points to April and May 2027.
Observers are reading: Why the verdict is only the first test, and what the Galmudug precedent and the presidency's replacement chief justice signal about enforcement.
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What to watch
The first question is whether the presidency complies, appeals or says nothing. The second is how the 90-day order sits against the government's plan for elections in April and May 2027. Puntland and Jubaland have been absent from the process so far, FTL reported, and it is not established whether they will take part in the president's proposed November forum, so any framework would be agreed without them.
The security backdrop is thin. Uganda, the largest contributor to the African Union force, announced this week that it will withdraw all troops by the end of 2027, and Washington has cut donations to a UN logistics mission the coalition relies on (AFP). US troops have also reportedly left Baledogle airfield. Sources describe the court crisis only as a risk of distraction from the Shabelle offensive, not as a cause of any deterioration.
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