MOGADISHU, Somalia – Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has criticized President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of lacking credibility and mishandling both domestic and foreign policy amid tensions over Somalia’s election process.
In a recent interview, Farmaajo said Mohamud had damaged Somalia’s international reputation by shifting alliances between rival countries.
“If you stand with one of two countries in conflict one day, and the other the next day, as we are seeing now, then you have no credibility,” Farmaajo said.
He also questioned the president’s grasp of governance.
“President Mohamud knows nothing about foreign policy, and he knows nothing about domestic politics,” he said.
Farmaajo defended his own record in office, saying he rebuilt the Somali National Army after inheriting weakened forces during Mohamud’s previous term.
He said troops had suffered from low morale and unpaid salaries before he took office, and that he later handed over a stronger military with stocked weapons depots.
Farmaajo further accused Mohamud of contradicting himself in public statements, saying the president had become “his own opposition.”
Like other opposition figures in Mogadishu, Farmaajo opposed the federal government’s handling of the election process, as Somali leaders remain divided over the voting model to be used after May 15, when Mohamud’s term is set to end.
Mohamud’s office has not publicly responded to the remarks.
