The Somali National Salvation Council – Will Its Actions Match Its Name?

EDITORIAL | Today in Mogadishu, not far from where in March 2025 there was a plan to kill President Hassan Sheikh, a group of politicians — former prime ministers, former presidents, and men who have run for the highest office — is meeting with the sitting president near the end of his term. They named themselves the National Salvation Council months ago, the name sounding like they will save a country scarred by war, but the question is: will they save the name, or the country?

The meeting comes at a time when the federal government led by President Hassan Sheikh has failed in national security, in safeguarding the unity of the country, and in upholding the law. Villa Somalia today uses the power of the state as if it were government property — land and money handed out as political bribes instead of protecting the public interest.

Adding to this, rumors around the Council suggest that some members are preoccupied with bargaining for high positions in a government whose term is expiring. This meeting also comes a day after the country’s Minister of Defense accused foreign states of working to hand Somalia over to Al-Shabaab, without naming those countries.

If the promise of salvation is real, the Council must refuse to sell the nation’s fate at the negotiation table. Somalis are tired of leaders who place personal interests above the survival of the state. Today, public attention is fixed on former President Sheikh Sharif, who is reportedly under pressure to accept a deal from Villa Somalia, and on a prime minister facing a motion being prepared against him by members of both houses of Somalia’s parliament.

The Somali National Salvation Council faces a test. It must show that the name it carries is a pledge to be honored, not a label used to legitimize illegal deals to cling to power. Garowe Online has previously reported that it has not disclosed the names of Council members involved in this political bargaining.

If actions do not match the name, the Somali National Salvation Council will end up putting its title ahead of the political destiny of the nation.

GAROWE ONLINE