Somalia's Supreme Court rules president's term extension unlawful

Somalia's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the one-year extension of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's term in office was unlawful, and that he should have left office in May.

The court held that the constitutional amendments parliament passed in March did not apply to Mohamud's current term, Africanews reported. Punch reported that the judges called for the country's political parties to reach a new agreement within 30 days and for elections to be held within 90 days.

Mohamud's term ended in May. His government declared a one-year "transition period" to prepare for what it described as the country's first nationwide democratic elections, now set for April and May 2027. The president argued the March amendments allowed him to remain in office. Opposition parties called the extension a power grab, and most of them boycotted the March parliamentary vote; some said they were barred from attending. Political factions clashed in Mogadishu in June over the dispute.

Late on Wednesday, before the ruling was published, the president's office announced on Facebook that Mohamud was dismissing the court's chief justice, Bashe Yusuf Ahmed, and appointing a replacement, citing concerns about the need for an efficient and fair judiciary, according to Punch. Africanews reported that Mohamud would name a successor and that unconfirmed reports said Ahmed was under arrest.

The court responded that the president had no authority to fire the judge, accusing him of trying to obstruct the administration of justice in the constitutional case before it, Punch reported.

Former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire told reporters that Mohamud had "launched an assault on the Supreme Court and deployed troops to its premises" on Thursday. "The chief justice and lawyers are being pursued in their homes for arrest, have been subjected to torture, and the court's operations have been halted," he said. Punch reported that AFP could not verify his claims and that images published by Somali media claimed to show military forces in the court compound.

Somalia's army chief, Major General Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud, separately urged government forces to intensify operations to weaken Al-Shabaab and secure areas being recovered from the group near Barawe, the Shabelle news agency reported through AllAfrica.

The court ruling lands as the government fights a long-running insurgency by Al-Shabaab, which controls swathes of the country, according to Punch. International donors, frustrated by the lack of progress against the militants, have been cutting funding for the international military mission that has run for almost 20 years. Uganda, the largest contributor to the African Union force, said this week it would withdraw all its troops by the end of 2027. Washington has cut all donations to a United Nations logistics mission on which the coalition depends, Punch reported.