Somalia’s opposition sources says they have uncovered an alleged infiltration campaign by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), with operatives posing as supporters, youth activists and journalists to gather intelligence on opposition leaders and their networks.
Multiple senior opposition aides told Kaab TV that at least five suspected spies — two women and three men — were identified and barred from attending opposition activities after what they described as months of internal counter-intelligence efforts.
Kaab TV could not independently verify the allegations, and NISA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to a senior aide to former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the suspected infiltration began early this year, when Mogadishu police arrested dozens of youth activists, forcing many others into hiding. During the same period, journalists covering opposition activities were also detained by NISA and the police.
Political tensions escalated further in mid-May after the opposition declared President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s mandate had expired.
Under the umbrella of the Somali Future Council, opposition leaders announced a series of street protests aimed at preventing what they described as an attempted extension of the president’s term.
The demonstrations, which began on 10 May, turned violent on 3–4 June after government forces moved against protests led by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.
The two opposition leaders later relocated to residential areas in Abdiaziz and Hawlwadaag districts, where clashes erupted between forces aligned with the opposition and those supporting President Mohamud.
Following the unrest, opposition figures say NISA and Mogadishu police intensified a crackdown targeting activists, journalists, tuk-tuk drivers and others suspected of supporting the opposition. Among those detained was prominent women’s rights activist Sadia Moalin Ali, who was later sentenced to three years in prison.
A senior security official working with Khaire told Kaab TV that opposition members identified one woman and three male suspects who regularly attended events and had gained access to the residence where the former prime minister held meetings with youth supporters.
a woman posing as a media influencer caught
“One of them was always among the loudest supporters of the opposition during public events, but he was collecting information about meetings, participants and planned locations,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The official said one suspected operative even publicly challenged NISA to arrest him during an opposition gathering at Jazeera Palace while presenting himself as a committed supporter.
Kaab TV reviewed video that appears to show the individual making the remarks.
According to aides to Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, one of the most significant incidents occurred in mid-June when a woman posing as a media influencer was discovered inside the residence and offices used by the Himilo Qaran party. They said she had regularly attended meetings involving Sharif, party officials and youth activists.
“Before she was identified, we realized that information about people attending our meetings was being leaked, and some of them were arrested overnight from their homes,” one aide said.
The aide said the party subsequently launched an internal effort to identify the source of the leaks and concluded that the woman was working for NISA.
“The president himself confronted her and told her to leave and never return to his residence or face arrest. She left embarrassingly,” the aide said.
That was when the former Somalia transitional president Sharif broke his silence.
He held a press conference and said that Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) had deployed spies to his residence to monitor him and his staff. He specifically named an officer, Hassan Dahir, whom he accused of conducting surveillance on his communications.
“We obtained information that NISA had sent people to spy on us. There is a man who is frequently seen near my residence these days, called Hassan Dahir, with a vehicle to conduct surveillance on us,” he said.
Abdi Ali, a Mogadishu tuk-tuk driver previously arrested by NISA and the police, told Kaab TV that he believes his personal information was passed to security agencies by individuals he had trusted as fellow youth activists.
Now in hiding, he said he cannot safely visit his family despite them living in Mogadishu.
“The infiltration is extensive,” he said. “Innocent activists and journalists are at risk because of this kind of spying.”
Journalist Abdihafid Nur Barre, who says he has been arrested twice over the past six months and remains in hiding, also warned that distrust has spread throughout opposition circles.
“I don’t trust anyone,” he said, adding that reports indicate he remains wanted by NISA.
The allegations come amid a prolonged political crisis and heightened security tensions in Somalia, with opposition leaders accusing the government of using intelligence and law enforcement agencies to suppress dissent.
Government officials have never acknowledged using infiltration against the Somali Future Council.