Case Transfer Order Triggers Legal Debate in Puntland State of Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Lt Col Adan Musse Jama speaks out, alleging breaches of criminal procedure in the Caluula case.

Boosaaso (PP News Desk) — The former head of the Bari Criminal Investigation Department in Bosaaso, Lieutenant Colonel Adan Musse Jama, yesterday accused the Puntland State Supreme Court of violating criminal procedures. “In October 2025, an incident occurred in Caluula involving two boats, resulting in the deaths of two people. On 16 October 2025, the Attorney General of Puntland State of Somalia appointed a judge to try the case. On the same day, the Chairman of the Puntland State Supreme Court issued instructions to transfer the case to Raascasayr,” said Adan,” said Adan.

Puntland Police Commander Brig Gen Mumin Abdi Shire, cited in orders to transfer the Caluula case files.

Adan claimed that he had received a call from the Commander of the Puntland State Police Force, Brigadier General Mumin Abdi Shire, who ordered him to hand over the case files to the Raascasayr Regional Attorney General’s Office. “I am applying the criminal procedures I was taught, but it is now apparent that the Somali Penal Code has been violated,” he added.

Hassan Yusuf Nur, Chairman of the Puntland Supreme Court, whose intervention has fuelled a major jurisdiction dispute.

Article 93 of the Puntland State Constitution states that one of the duties of the Puntland Supreme Court is “to resolve controversies of jurisdiction among tribunals”. The intervention by the Supreme Court and the Commander of the Puntland State Police Force appears to deepen further the executive branch’s control over the Puntland State judiciary.

Caluula is a district under the jurisdiction of Bari within Somalia’s pre-1991 regional system. Puntland State later divided Bari to create the Karkaar and Raascasayr regions, but neither region possesses administrative capacities comparable to those of Bari. “The creation of new regions was a violation of the 1998 Puntland Charter, which was based on the 18 regions of the Federal Republic of Somalia. It created unnecessary jurisdictional problems,” said a lawyer in Garowe.

© Puntland Post, 2025

The post Case Transfer Order Triggers Legal Debate in Puntland State of Somalia appeared first on Puntland Post.