We must stop Guelleh’s influence in Somaliland

Let's talk about the clear and present danger to Somaliland's sovereignty, stability, and very existence. 

We need to look directly at the man in Djibouti, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, whose blatant and unacceptable interference in our internal affairs cannot, and will not, be tolerated. This isn't neighborly cooperation; this is a hostile agenda, designed to undermine our nation for personal and foreign gain.

Guelleh and his family are, by all credible accounts, corrupt actors whose tentacles have reached deep into Somaliland. Consider SOMCABLE, one of our largest telecom firms. It's widely understood that this entity is owned by the Guelleh family, despite attempts to mask ownership. And what is its true function?

Not just providing service, but acting as a covert surveillance network, spying on its own Somaliland customers.

This is an outrageous breach of privacy and a direct threat to our national security,

Guelleh's objectives in Somaliland are as clear as they are sinister: cause as much chaos as possible, sow division along clan lines, specifically targeting the bedrock Isaaq clan, and ultimately, seize control of our vital oil exploration projects in Somaliland.

And let's not pretend this is mere speculation: the whispers are practically shouts in the wind – Ismail Omar Guelleh harbors a dangerous ambition to annex western Somaliland and merge it with Djibouti.

Guelleh wants clans in Western Somaliland, to fall completely under his personal control in Djibouti. It's a land grab, plain and simple, dressed up as regional politics.

It's no coincidence that Guelleh’s immediate family have close ties to the owner of SOMCABLE group, Mohamed Said Guedi.

He is just the owner on paper.

This is merely a front for the Guelleh family’s business interests in Somaliland.

While Guedi's relationship with the Guelleh's might be complicated – loyal at times, while also plotting his own irrelevant power grab – he is ultimately facilitating their corrosive influence. 

This web of deceit serves one purpose: Guelleh's personal enrichment and political expansion in Somaliland and Somalia.

Let's also be frank about Guelleh's appeal to the West.

He is a Frenchman, loyal to Djibouti and Paris, and he simply does not resonate with other Western investors and nations who seek genuine, transparent partnerships.

But here's the absolute truth, the most damning indictment of Guelleh's actions: he is exporting the 'China threat' directly into Somaliland. 

Before Guelleh and Djibouti opened the floodgates, the Horn of Africa did not have a "China problem" of this magnitude. 

Who allowed them in? Guelleh did. 

He was granted millions, if not billions, in loans from Beijing in exchange for establishing their naval base in Djibouti. 

And now, true to the typical China 'debt-trap diplomacy' playbook, Guelleh cannot pay back the loans. 

He is effectively a pawn, being forced to do China's dirty work across the Horn of Africa, specifically here in Somaliland and Somalia.

Just this week, we saw undeniable proof: China's ambassador to Somalia hosted the rebel leader of SSC-Khaatumo, the organization actively fighting against the Government of the Republic of Somaliland in our far-eastern regions.

This isn't subtle. China is hell-bent on causing havoc in eastern Somaliland, arming rebel groups against our brave Somaliland National Army.

Ismail Omar Guelleh isn't on Somaliland's side. He is actively facilitating China's evil plans in Somaliland.

And if you think this influence stops at foreign powers, think again.

Rumors abound regarding Ismail Omar Guelleh's insidious ties with Somaliland's political parties, specifically with the KULMIYE party.

He has only one true friend, one loyal operative, in Somaliland politics: Musa Bihi Abdi, the former President of Somaliland.

Somalilanders, we must understand the stakes. 

We must all rise up against Musa Bihi's return to Somaliland politics.

To stop Bihi is to stop Guelleh, and to stop China. 

Musa Bihi is reportedly against vital oil exploration projects in eastern Somaliland. 

And even more alarmingly, it is now rumored he is sympathetic to plans for western Somaliland to break away and merge with Djibouti, should his desperate impeachment attempts against our current President, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro, prove unsuccessful. 

This is a betrayal of the highest order.

Our Millennial and Gen Z Somalilanders: it is your moment. 

You must rise up and reject Ismail Omar Guelleh’s negative, destructive influence in Somaliland. 

Our nation's future, our very independence, depends on your courage and your unwavering resolve against these foreign and domestic enemies.

Follow the Somaliland National Counterterrorism Center on X (@SomalilandNCTC)