MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – The Somali cabinet of ministers today dismissed the director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) amid escalating allegations of human rights violations.
During its weekly meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, the cabinet announced the replacement of Mahad Mohamed Salad, who had served as the director of the spy agency since May 2022.
A statement released by the prime minister’s office confirmed the approval of Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed Ali (Sanbalolshe) as the new Director of the National Security and Intelligence Agency, based on a proposal from the Ministry of Internal Security.
“The director of the National Security and Intelligence Agency, Mr. Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, has knowledge and experience in the activities of the national intelligence and security, having held several positions in the past, including being a minister, member of parliament, ambassador and the director of NISA for the third time,” the statement adds.
Mr. Sanbalolshe, from Beledweyne in the Hiiraan region, is a sitting Member of Parliament and an ally of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. He has previously advocated for “a powerful Hawiye president to rule the capital city”.
Before his dismissal, Mr. Salad reportedly authorized the transfer of a significant amount of cash, weapons, and armored vehicles from the NISA headquarters in Mogadishu. Official sources revealed that some of these weapons were relocated to Guriel, a town in Galmudug, Mr. Salad’s clan stronghold.
This decision to replace the head of the spy agency comes amid escalating insecurity in Mogadishu, with investigations into terror attack plots stalled.
Numerous attacks, including those on SYL Hotel, Villa Rose Hotel, Hayat Hotel, and on a camp for Somali army officers in Mogadishu – allegedly involved members of the national intelligence, many of whom were Al-Shabaab defectors under Mahad Salad’s leadership – remain uninvestigated.
Parliamentarians have raised concerns about dozens of deadly attacks on the Somali army, suggesting insider involvement in these plots.
Reports of human rights violations, including sexual violence, rape of women, extrajudicial killings against minority communities, and targeted suppression of critics, have also surfaced under Mahad Salad’s leadership.
The unresolved cases of the brutal murders of two Somaliland-born individuals in February this year and attacks on journalists, including the raid on the Somali Journalists Syndicate in October 2022, highlight the alleged abuses under Mr. Salad’s NISA.
The business community has also suffered, with the deaths of at least eight Hormuud Telecom employees and injuries to 11 others in suspicious bombings and shootings, along with reported extortion demands.
Local sources suggest that Mr. Salad’s departure may be an attempt to salvage President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government from collapse.
While it remains unclear where Mr. Salad will go next, insiders speculate that he may be positioning himself for involvement in the upcoming regional election in Galmudug later this year.
However, prospects for investigating Salad’s alleged abuses appear bleak in the current Somali context.