President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and other dignitaries at the inauguration of Galmudug leader Liban Ahmed Hassan in Dhusamareb on November 5, 2026, in a photograph shared on X by Radio Muqdisho. Photo: Radio Muqdisho (@RadioMuqdisho) via X
Somalia’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate expired in May and voided his firing of the chief justice, while Galmudug swore in a new leader with the president looking on.
In a statement circulated on Thursday by Somali accounts that published the English summary of the ruling, the five member Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court said Parliament’s mandate expired on 14 April 2026 and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate expired on 15 May 2026. The court said any decisions taken after those dates are invalid, that the government is limited to routine caretaker duties, and that political stakeholders must agree on an electoral framework within 30 days and hold elections within 90 days. The full Somali language Go’aan was dated 5 November 2026 in Mogadishu and signed by five justices, according to that summary.
The ruling answered a petition by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed against federal amendments to the 2012 Provisional Constitution. The court rejected the part of the petition that challenged the amendment procedure itself, saying Sharif lacked legal standing on that point, and accepted the challenge to the consequences of the amendments. The amendments, the court said, did not explicitly state that new terms would apply to sitting institutions, so the original four year mandates stand.
In a separate Somali language statement summarized in the same English roundup, the court declared the president’s 4 November dismissal of Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed null and void. The court said the presidency’s Facebook announcement of the removal did not cite any legal provision and that its purpose was to obstruct justice in the constitutional case. It cited Articles 135 and 138 of the constitution, under which appointment of the chief justice is proposed by the Supreme Judicial Council and approved by Parliament, and removal is proposed by the Council and approved by a two thirds majority at a joint sitting of Parliament. The presidency had said on Wednesday that it was replacing Baashe with former Chief Justice Ibrahim Idle Suleiman after complaints from judges and judicial staff. Mereja Media could not independently obtain the original Somali court documents.
Abdirashid Abdi (@RAbdiAnalyst), a Somali analyst, posted a timeline on Thursday evening calling the episode the severest full blown constitutional crisis in decades. He wrote that security forces reportedly stormed the Supreme Court after the ruling, that judges who issued it went underground, and that airport police and airlines were told to stop the judges from leaving the country. Those security claims rest on his account and other unverified posts. Mereja Media could not confirm any storming of the court or any travel ban on the justices.
The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) summarized the 90 day election order and linked a news report that said the court found the president and Parliament had overstayed their mandates. Opposition voices online welcomed the verdict. Accounts aligned with the government said the president would press ahead with his electoral plan. Mereja Media had not received an official Villa Somalia reply to questions about whether the presidency accepts the caretaker limits at the time of writing.
On the same Thursday, Galmudug State inaugurated Liban Ahmed Hassan as its new leader in Dhusamareb. Radio Muqdisho (@RadioMuqdisho) shared photographs of the ceremony attended by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, regional leaders, federal officials and other dignitaries. Somali National Television (@sntvnews1) said the president expressed confidence in Liban’s ability to lead the region toward stability and development. The Djibouti Embassy in Somalia (@DjiboutiEmbSO) said Ambassador Osman Doubad attended, alongside the Speaker of the House of the People, the prime minister, parliamentarians and other high level guests. The inauguration unfolded while Mogadishu absorbed the court ruling that said the president’s own federal mandate had already expired.
The court order and the Galmudug ceremony leave Somalia with two colliding pictures on the same day: a federal judiciary telling the presidency it is a caretaker, and a federal president blessing a state inauguration in the center of the country, as Abdirashid Abdi wrote in his Thursday timeline.
Sources
- Siad A (@Siad_A) on X, English STATEMENT of Supreme Court ruling and CJ void
- Abdirashid Abdi (@RAbdiAnalyst) on X, crisis timeline
- The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) on X
- Eastleigh Voice news report
- Radio Muqdisho (@RadioMuqdisho) on X, Galmudug inauguration
- Somali National Television (@sntvnews1) on X
- Djibouti Embassy in Somalia (@DjiboutiEmbSO) on X
- Mereja Media inquiry to [email protected], sent 5 Nov 2026 evening ET (Gmail 1a1ae03c7237a7ce)