The phrase travels quietly through Somalia, a whisper that cuts deeper than any public speech: “When a new President arrives, it is his time to eat.” It is spoken with humour, but it carries the weight of a national truth. Everywhere across the political landscape, the assumption holds strong: every presidency becomes a four-year window for enrichment, for rewarding networks, and for consolidating power without fear of consequences.
It is a system built not on law, but on habit.
It survives not because Somalis admire it, but because every actor inside it benefits from its endurance.
The Presidency as a Negotiated Inheritance
In principle, Somalia elects presidents through a parliamentary process. In practice, the election begins long before legislators arrive in Mogadishu. Power brokers, elders, business elites, factional leaders, and armed influencers shape the contest through a web of obligations and financial flows. Presidents do not rise by presenting public visions. They rise by assembling coalitions that expect a return on their investment.
The state’s institutions become currency in this exchange.
Ministerial posts, embassies, commissions, and foreign-funded programmes are distributed not for competence but for political debt settlement.
“In Somalia’s political marketplace, the presidency is less an office and more an inheritance negotiated behind closed doors.”
A Cycle That Begins and Ends in the Same Place
Every four years, the choreography repeats itself.
A president arrives with strong promises: fight corruption, rebuild institutions, restore public trust. These commitments resonate in a country exhausted by instability.
Yet within months, familiar accusations surface, controversial contracts, mismanaged funds, captured agencies, silenced critics. Public confidence erodes, reform stalls. Patronage expands.
When the electoral season returns, the same networks that weakened institutions present themselves as the guardians of national stability. They urge continuity, warn against change, and demand another term of trust.
And the cycle begins again.
The Quiet Pact That Governs the Country
Beneath the visible struggles lies a more powerful and less discussed truth.
No president investigates the wrongdoing of the administration before him.
None. Even when evidence is overwhelming, the new leadership does nothing.
This is not an oversight failure. It is intentional design.
A silent pact binds Somalia’s political class: Protect your predecessor, because you will need protection when your own term ends.
This informal immunity is the backbone of Somali politics. It explains why corruption grows, why institutions remain weak, and why reform is always promised but never delivered. It is the reason every leader inherits a broken system and every leader chooses to leave it broken.
“Accountability threatens everyone, so accountability is quietly banned.”
Institutional Fragility as a Political Asset
Each administration inherits institutions that barely function: weak financial oversight, limited legal capacity, politicised security organs, and fragmented bureaucracies.
In a healthy political environment, these weaknesses would spark urgent reform.
In Somalia, they become valuable tools.
Fragile institutions allow leaders to manoeuvre without restraint. Opaque financial systems enable off-book deals. Weak courts guarantee impunity. A disempowered parliament avoids confrontation.
Thus, Somalia’s political class has no incentive to strengthen the state. A strong state would be dangerous. It would make corruption visible and punishable.
Where Does the Money Go
Somalia receives domestic revenues, donor funds, development assistance, and project financing. Citizens hear numbers. They see announcements. They watch ceremonies.
What they rarely see is accountability.
Critical questions remain unanswered:
- Where does national revenue actually flow
- Who receives major contracts
- How much is lost before reaching its intended purpose
- How often do auditors carry out unannounced inspections
- What happens when wrongdoing is confirmed
The silence is louder than the numbers.
“A budget without transparency is not a public document. It is a private opportunity.”
The Politics of Entitlement
Across districts and regions, the same statements appear when a new president takes power:
“Our clan must receive positions; we brought him to office.”
“The financiers must be satisfied; they made the campaign possible.”
“Our allies need rewards; otherwise, the government will not survive.”
This mindset is not a side effect of the system; it is the system. Public office becomes a prize. The state becomes a resource pool. Citizens watch as national responsibility is transformed into private entitlement.
Trust evaporates when leaders behave as proprietors of the country rather than servants of the public.
A Parliament That Stands in Its Own Shadow
Somalia’s parliament reflects the same structural fragility as the executive branch.
Many MPs enter office not as independent representatives, but as extensions of regional political interests. Their survival depends not on public approval, but on the goodwill of those who sponsored their seats.
Some MPs rarely attend sessions. Some collect salaries without legislative contribution. Some remain silent out of fear of political retaliation.
Oversight disappears. Legislative work slows. The system protects itself by disabling the only institution designed to check it.
Mogadishu: The City That Pays for the Republic
Mogadishu remains the fiscal engine of Somalia. Its ports, airport, markets, and taxpayers sustain much of the federal budget. Yet Mogadishu receives:
- No representation in the Senate
- No proportional influence in federal structure
- No organised defence of its fiscal contributions
The capital is both indispensable and politically marginalised.
It pays the bill but never holds the pen.
What the Country Has Never Allowed Itself to Build
Nations that break corruption cycles achieve two things:
- They punish wrongdoing through independent courts.
- They preserve a national memory of accountability.
Somalia has neither enforcement nor memory. There is no landmark conviction of a senior leader. No systematic recovery of stolen assets. No institutional archive of political wrongdoing.
Without consequence or memory, corruption becomes not only common but logical.
The Question That Awaits the Next Election
As another election approaches, Somalia faces a stark question:
Will the coming presidency continue the 4 year feast, or will it finally confront the system that enables it
Real reform requires more than speeches:
- A parliament willing to confront executive power
- A judiciary free from political interference
- Oversight bodies with real mandates and real budgets
- A public that refuses to reduce national tragedy to political humour
Without these foundations, the next president will repeat the habits of all who came before him.
And Somalis will hear the same bitter words:
“Four years: it is my time to eat.”