Armed police officers, acting on the orders of the Somali Police Commissioner, Asad Osman Abdullahi, and the Banadir Regional Police Commander, Mahdi Omar Muumin (commonly known as Moalim Mahdi), raided the Himilo Media studio in Mogadishu’s Maka al-Mukarama Avenue. According to the station’s management, the journalists locked themselves inside the studio, prompting the police to leave temporarily.

Later in the day, officers from the Waberi Police Station phoned Himilo Media Director Ahmed Mohamed Adan and reporter Khadar Abdirahim Ibrahim, summoning them to the station. Upon their arrival, both journalists were arrested and placed in detention. They were told that their arrest was linked to Himilo Media’s reports on forced evictions in Mogadishu.

In the evening, Director Ahmed Mohamed Adan was released without charge while reporter Khadar Abdirahim Ibrahim remained in police custody.

A source at the station informed SJS that Moalim Mahdi, the Commander of Mogadishu Police and a former defector from the Al-Shabaab militant group, demanded that Himilo Media delete three recently published reports on the forced evictions of vulnerable families, including women and children, in Mogadishu.

One of the reports featured an interview with an elderly man, Ahmed Siicow Mohamed, who was beaten and dragged by police officers and the national intelligence and security (NISA) agents during a forced eviction operation in the Siinaay neighborhood on 24 September. The other two reports highlighted an injured man whose house was demolished and several vulnerable women who were left homeless.

The director of Himilo Media told SJS that the outlet refused to comply with this demand.

SJS strongly condemns the arrest of the two Himilo Media journalists. Himilo Media has been repeatedly targeted over the past few months for its courageous reporting on government human rights violations, including the ongoing forced evictions affecting Mogadishu’s most marginalized communities.

We demand the immediate release of Khadar Abdirahim and call for an end to the harassment, intimidation, and censorship against journalists working for Himilo Media.

“The actions by the Somali police against Himilo Media and its journalists represent a blatant abuse of power and a serious violation of press freedom and human rights,” said Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, Secretary General of SJS  “Arresting journalists and ordering the deletion of news reports on forced evictions is an unacceptable attempt to silence critical reporting and conceal abuses against vulnerable communities in Mogadishu.”

“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Khadar Abdirahim Ibrahim and urge the authorities to end all forms of intimidation, harassment, and censorship targeting Himilo Media and other independent journalists,” Mr. Mumin adds.

The post Mogadishu Police Raid Himilo Media Studio and Arrest Two Journalists for Reporting on Forced Evictions of Vulnerable Families appeared first on Kaab TV.

At around 6:00 p.m. local time on Monday, NISA officers stopped a tuktuk taxi in which journalist Omar Guux was travelling at a security checkpoint in the Walaalaha area of Dharkeenley district and demanded his identification. After he presented his journalist ID, the officers detained him and subjected him to verbal threats and harassment.

Omar told SJS that the armed NISA agents referred to his recent reporting for Himilo Somali TV, in which he covered sensitive stories including insecurity in Mogadishu, the forced evictions of vulnerable families in Mogadishu’s Siinaay, Dayniile and Hodan districts involving President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as well as the ongoing forced voter registration process in Mogadishu.

Media outlets including Himilo Somali TV, where Omar Guux works, have repeatedly reported cases of citizens being abducted and registered without consent by the disputed electoral commission.

He was held at the same checkpoint for nearly an hour before being released.

“They briefly spoke on the phone with my media director and later told me I was under arrest,” Omar Guux told SJS. “After news of my arrest spread, they released me, though I had already been held at the checkpoint for nearly an hour.”

Himilo Somali TV has previously been subjected to repeated threats from NISA because of its critical reporting on security issues, forced evictions, abductions, and the controversial voter registration exercise in Mogadishu.

On 12 June 2025, armed NISA officers raided Himilo Somali TV’s studio and demanded the removal of an interview broadcast in which a young man described “being abducted and forced to register as a voter” in Mogadishu.

In November last year, NISA sent officers to arrest Himilo Somali TV editor Nuur Abdirahman following his reporting on business closures in Mogadishu due to Al-Shabaab threats. Nuur was forced into hiding.

Omar Guux, a prominent reporter from a minority community, fled with his family from Jowhar of Middle Shabelle to Mogadishu, where he continued his journalism career.  In early February this year, a government-affiliated clan militia in Lower Shabelle kidnapped Omar after he traveled to KM50 village to report on community complaints of militia raids and abductions in the region.

SJS condemns the continued targeting of journalists and media workers, including those working for Himilo Somali TV. We call on NISA to immediately end its campaign of threats, harassment, and intimidation against Mogadishu’s journalist community.

“It is deeply troubling that NISA is targeting journalists who report on human rights abuses such as forced evictions and the unlawful voter registration campaign in Mogadishu,” said Abdalle Mumin, SJS Secretary General. “By harassing and detaining Omar Yusuf Mohamed, NISA is not only attacking press freedom but also trying to silence reporting on grave violations against vulnerable communities. These actions are a blatant abuse of power and must stop immediately and those perpetrating it must be held to account.”

The post Local TV Reporter Stopped, Harassed and Detained at NISA Checkpoint in Mogadishu appeared first on Kaab TV.