President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: $10 million corruption scheme in the sky

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: $10 million corruption scheme in the sky

While the GenZ in Kenya is shaking the political order in their country by mass demonstrations against the blatant corruption, opulence, extravagance and expensive spending habits, including foreign trips, of Kenyan government officials, the Somali president recently returned from his 7^th visit to Eritrea. The frequent foreign visits of Kenya’s President Ruto caused public uproar with Kenyan media outlets doing the math and concluding that in 20 months President Ruto engaged in 62 visits to 38 countries. The Kenyan media has labelled him as such the ‘Flying President’ and ‘King of the Sky’. However, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who came to power a few months before President Ruto, is the real King of the Sky in Africa, if not, the world. He has engaged in at least 73 foreign visits in 25 months to 21 countries. He has spent a total of 293 days outside of Somalia, one in every 3 days since he came to power on 15 May 2022, as revealed by the latest investigation from anti-corruption group BoobQaran based in Mogadishu.

In an era of epidemic corruption and complete lack of accountability, the travel habits of president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud are raising eyebrows and concerns. The image of a jet-setting leader, hopping from one international conference to another, while burning through millions of dollars in public funds, is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

The most immediate and obvious consequence of the excessive travel is the financial burden it places on taxpayers and goodwill donors who are currently paying for 80% of the budget of the Somali government. Millions of dollars spent on airfare, accommodation, security, and other travel-related expenses could be invested in critical areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, or social programs. Every dollar spent on the President’s overseas trip is a dollar not invested in enhancing the lives of the citizens he supposedto represent or supporting the barefooted National Somali Army in their fight against Al-Shabab

Beyond the direct financial costs, there are also significant challenges associated with his frequent travel. The time spent in transit and attending conferences overseas is time not spent addressing pressing domestic issues. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud traveled to Norway on June 9 while an armed conflict was ongoing in the Galmudug region that caused more than 100 lose their lives.

Erosion of Trust and Public Confidence
Excessive travel can further erode the already limited public trust and confidence in the Somali government. When Somalis see their leaders enjoying lavish travel perks while they struggle to make ends meet, it can breed resentment and cynicism, as has happened in Kenya. It is fair to conclude that President Hassan Sheikh is entirely out of touch with the realities of everyday life of Somalis and that his legitimacy and authority are on the decline.

The frequent travel of Hassan Sheikh has raised questions about his priorities and motivations. Based on the data gathered by the BoobQaran team in Mogadishu, one is justified to question whether the President is committed to serving his people, or if he is more interested in personal financial gain and international travel?

To mitigate the negative consequences of HSM excessive travel, greater transparency and accountability are required. He must be willing to justify the necessity and benefits of his trips, and demonstrate how these trips are serving the public interest. He must also be held accountable for the expenses incurred, and ensure that public funds are being used responsibly and not for private purposes or directly going into his pocket.

The President, due to the epidemic corruption, lack ofe transparency and accountability, is now risk facing a backlash from an increasingly informed and engaged public, as young Somalis are watching what is happening in Kenya and taking notes.

The BoobQaran team investigated President Hassan Sheikh’s travel habits and found that he has been out of the country for over 293 days during his two years in office. Additionally, the nature of some of the trips are unclear, with some potentially being personal rather than official. For instance, his visit to Türkiye on June 15, 2024 where he performed his Eid prayer, could be considered a private trip since all relevant Turkish officials were on leave during the Eid festivities. Sources close to the Somali embassy in Türkiye confirmed they were unprepared for the visit. They stated that they would have advised the president to reschedule for after the festivities if they had been informed of his arrival on a timely manner.

More embarrassedly, President Hassan Sheikh is identified as the foreign leader with the highest number of visits to Uganda State House.

The BoobQaran team focused exclusively on President Hassan Sheikh in the data gathered. The travel data of other Federal Government of Somalia leaders, such as the Prime Minister and the leaders of the House of the People, are not included.
Gathering the data was challenging because Villa Somalia is not transparent about all of the president’s trips. When information is shared, it lacks financial figures and does not indicate whether the trip is personal or official.
Additionally, the travel-budget (sahay money) is never disclosed or justified. According to sources within the Ministry of Finance, sahay money requests from Villa Somalia are approved upon request without any supporting documents, and no receipts are required once the president returns to the country.

Based on the 73 trips we were able to research, financial experts in Mogadishu estimate that the president pocketed around $5 million. How a leader from a country that is on the financial IV of donors can justify pocketing this amount without any receipts, is a question that only Hassan Sheikh can answer.
It is important to note that this amount does not include the cost of the used private jets, that is estimated to have cost around $ 5.5 million.

The Need for Transparency and Accountability
If Villa Somalia fails to justify the President’s excessive travel, providing details such as the purpose of the trips, their duration, and the amount of sahay money taken from the treasury, this could become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.
People are increasingly concerned about the ongoing displacement of the poor in Mogadishu by elites close to Hassan Sheikh’s inner circle. .The recent uproar and demolition of homes in the Dab-Damiska area that now is given to the mentioned individuals, have raised the possibility of a public uprising, similar to that in Kenya, a scenario that can no longer be ruled out.

We have asked Villa Somalia for comment prior to publication but have not received any comment.

As we don’t anticipate receiving travel related financial data from Villa Somalia, we kindly request citizens and civil servants to help us keep HSM ‘travel file’ up-to-date.
Please use the comment field below or email us at info@boobqaran.com

With the help of international partners, BoobQaran is evaluating the Guinness World Records application process to register President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the most traveled president in Somalia, Africa, and the world.