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Mahad Salad was initially appointed as NISA chief on 26 May 2022 but was dismissed on 4 April 2024 following numerous allegations of targeted attacks on media institutions, civil society groups, and minority communities, as reported by the media. Sadly no investigation was made into his crimes. He was reappointed on 1 June 2025 and officially assumed office Saturday 14 June.

Targeted Crackdown on SJS and Independent Media

On 10 October 2022, NISA agents raided the offices of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) in Mogadishu after staff had completed their workday. CCTV footage obtained by SJS shows the operation was led by a former Al-Shabaab defector employed by NISA.

On 11 October 2022, SJS Secretary-General Abdalle Ahmed Mumin was abducted at Mogadishu Aden Adde International Airport and held incommunicado for 11 days in an underground cell. During his detention, he survived torture and an assassination attempt. On 13 April 2024, Banadir Court froze SJS bank accounts, using leaked private information supplied by Premier Bank, a bank tied to the Somali government. Further,  NISA officers interrupted SJS women journalists’ training in Mogadishu in January 2024.

On 23 February 2023, Mumin was re-arrested by NISA and police officers under orders from Mahad Salad and in coordination with Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala. He endured 33 days of torture and mistreatment in secret facilities until he was released in late March 2023 and forced to leave the country.

Under Salad’s direction, journalists in Mogadishu and beyond were subjected to surveillance, arbitrary arrests, violence, and threats. SJS has documented the following incidents:

• 30 November 2022: Journalists at the People’s House (Federal Parliament) were threatened with death or imprisonment for questioning lawmakers about the Villa Rays hotel attack.
• 18 December 2022: UK-based Channel 4 correspondent Jamal Muhumed Osman, a Somali-British, was unlawfully detained and sent back by NISA agents while he was arriving for journalism assignment.
• 19 December 2022: NISA officers assaulted Arlaadi Media reporter Mohamed Nur Mohamed inside the Parliament premises.
• 24 December 2022: SJS legal officer Abdirahman Hassan Omar and staff members were unlawfully detained at Mogadishu airport by NISA agents under Mahad Salad en route to a journalist training in Hiiraan.
• 24 December 2022: Arlaadi Media editor Aweys Bashir Abdirahman was beaten near KM4 by suspected NISA agents.
• 10 February 2023: SJS legal adviser Abdirahman Hassan Omar was attacked by four armed men in a targeted assault. The attack occured in Bakaro market area controlled by NISA.
• 20 February 2023: Radio Kulmiye journalists Ali Elmi Salad and Sakariye Mohamed Salad were arrested and interrogated by NISA.
• 7 April 2023: NISA officer in-charge of the Mogadishu airport, Mahad Arab Dhiblawe issued public threats against SJS Secretary General Abdalle Mumin and journalists from Risaala Media following an interview Mr. Mumin gave to the radio in relation to his arrest and kidnapping by NISA in Mogadishu. Days later, the journalist said he was forced to remove an interview with Abdalle Mumin following online attacks from the Somali Ministry of Information.
• In August 2023, SJS’s website and email systems were put offline by a wave DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks traced to IP addresses rented by criminal groups believed to be linked to NISA. The non-profit group Qurium which investigated the attacks and made its analysis indicated that it thwarted “nearly 20,000 IP addresses coming to SJS website with millions of requests” on August 18 and 19. The attack began on the heels of the kidnapping of SJS Secretary of Information and Human Rights, Mohamed Ibrahim Bulbul by NISA in Mogadishu.
• On 17 August 2023, SJS Secretary of Information and Human Rights, Mohamed Ibrahim Bulbul, was kidnapped by NISA and police agents and held for 56 days after exposing police corruption.

Expansion of Abuses Beyond Media: Extortion and Extrajudicial Killings

Journalists and editors have reported to SJS how insiders working as informants within media houses monitored and threatened journalists critical of NISA. This has forced many Somali journalists into self-censorship or exile to avoid persecution.

Between May 2022 and April 2024, a new tactic emerged involving the use of bribes and social media trolls to discredit, harass, and threaten journalists and civil society actors. These troll networks—funded through covert channels by NISA—have systematically targeted government critics, often smearing their reputations or inciting violence against them online.

In some cases, journalists were also threatened by Al-Shabaab operatives after reporting critically on NISA leadership, illustrating the dangerous double-bind facing independent media in Somalia—caught between state repression and extremist threats.

In February 2024, journalists reporting on the murder of UK-trained Somali air traffic controller Abdinasir Muse Dahable—who was found murdered after being tortured—were threatened by NISA officers linked to Mahad Salad. The killing was linked to NISA officers under Salad’s command, one of whom fled to Nairobi. Five men who were also arrested by NISA following the Dahable’s death were reported to have endured torture under NISA.

No independent investigation has been carried out to date; however, local journalists told SJS they were threatened with “death or disappearance” if they spoke about the case.

On 18 March 2024, a Turkish drone strike in Afgoye based on faulty NISA intel killed 23 civilians. Amnesty International investigation found that civilians killed in the strikes included 14 children, five women and four men. Another 17 civilians were injured in the strikes: 11 children, two women and four men. All are from the marginalized Gorgaarte clan. Families seeking justice were threatened by NISA and accused of terrorist affiliations. Mahad Salad aides also threatened reporters on the ground who were investigating the incident.

SJS reiterates that holding Mahad Mohamed Salad accountable would be a critical step toward ending the entrenched culture of impunity—not only for attacks on journalists, but also for the widespread abuses inflicted on Somalia’s most vulnerable communities during his tenure—thereby contributing to lasting peace, stability, and the restoration of the rule of law in the country.

“Instead of holding him accountable, the Somali government has rewarded Mahad Mohamed Salad with his crimes, greenlighting more abuses against journalists and marginalized communities,” said SJS President Mohamed Ibrahim. “We urge the Somali government to immediately review this decision, remove Salad, and prosecute him. His victims deserve justice and protection. He should not be allowed to rule with terror again.”

“We also call on the international community, including press freedom and human rights organizations, to speak out and support accountability efforts—those who suffered under his leadership are still waiting for justice,” Mr. Ibrahim added.

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Does media programming address the needs of youth and women?

This is the focus of our discussion in this segment of the #Baraarug Forum.

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