Somalia President Appoints His Daughter “Foreign Affairs Special Adviser”

The 4.5 power-sharing system permits President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to appoint his daughter a foreign Affairs Adviser.

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The appointment of President Hassan Mohamud’s daughter Johan Hassan Sheikh as a Foreign Affairs Special Adviser surfaced several weeks before the incumbent President celebrates his first anniversary re-election.

Dated 4 March 2023, the appointment features in the Official Bulletin posted on the website of the Auditor General. Supporters of President Mohamed have dismissed the appointment decree shared on social media networks as “a fake news”.

The Somalia Official Bulletin features the appointment of Jihan, the President’s daughter, as a Foreign Affairs Adviser.

Under the 4.5 power-sharing system any clan can field a candidate for a federal government position. The controversial appointment exposed the rotten nature of a power-sharing system against conflit of interest and meritocracy. The Federal Government of Somalia has appointed special advisers and special envoys in a move seen by many as a waste of limited resources.

“In less than a year the Federal Government of Somalia has nun out of steam. No wonder the Kenyan President William Ruto described Somalia as a country without a government” said a Somali MP in Mogadishu.

© Puntland Post, 2023