Somali President under fire over ‘public hospital sales’

[Deeq A.]

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is facing a major political scandal after his government was accused of illegally selling off historic public properties in the capital, Mogadishu, including the former Ministry of Health building and a colonial-era hospital.

The allegations, leveled by prominent opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, have ignited a firestorm of criticism over government transparency and the management of national assets in the Horn of Africa nation, which is still rebuilding after decades of conflict.

Warsame, a former minister and presidential candidate, claimed the sale of the health facilities demonstrates a profound lack of respect for public services and national heritage.

“The sale of the Ministry of Health, Lansaretti Hospital, and other heritage buildings is proof that President Hassan Sheikh’s administration has lower morals, ethics, and respect than the clan militias,” Warsame said in a sharply worded statement.

He drew a stark comparison to the country’s civil war, a period of intense factional fighting that destroyed much of the capital in the 1990s. “During the country’s darkest days, when fighting was rampant, clan militias used to respect health centers,” he added.

The Somali government has not yet issued a public statement responding to the specific allegations.

Rising tensions over public land

The controversy erupts amid heightened tensions over land rights and public property in Mogadishu, a city undergoing a construction boom but plagued by legal disputes.

According to the original claims that sparked the controversy, numerous residents have been evicted from government-owned buildings in recent months under the pretext that the state needed the properties for public use. However, critics allege that these evacuated sites have not been converted to provide any new public services, fueling suspicion that they are being cleared for private sale.

“This is the biggest scandal involving the sale of public assets,” Warsame declared, accusing the government of presiding over an unchecked sell-off of state-owned land.

The properties at the center of the dispute are significant landmarks. The Lansaretti Hospital, known locally as Isbitaal Laansareeti, was initially built during the Italian colonial period and has served as a key medical facility in the city for generations. Its sale is seen by critics not only as a loss of a public health asset but also as the erasure of a piece of the nation’s history.

The accusations tap into deep-seated public grievances about corruption in Somalia. The country has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of global corruption indices. In its 2023 Corruption Perception Index, Transparency International ranked Somalia last out of 180 countries, a position it has held for many years.

President Mohamud, who was re-elected in 2022 for a second, non-consecutive term, has pledged to reform government institutions and fight corruption. However, his administration continues to face immense challenges, including an ongoing insurgency by the Al-Shabaab jihadist group and complex political clan dynamics.

Analysts suggest that managing public assets and land is one of the most critical tests for the Somali state as it seeks to establish the rule of law. The lack of a formal land registry system, destroyed during the civil war, has created a volatile environment where property disputes are common and often resolved through power and influence rather than legal processes.