MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s power struggle has deepened after the Supreme Court ruled that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term had expired and ordered elections within 90 days.
The court's decision on Thursday came a day after Mohamud dismissed the country's chief justice. The presidency had not responded to the ruling by Friday.
The confrontation comes a week after the United Nations closed its political mission, which had helped rival leaders negotiate. No replacement mediator has been agreed upon for an election dispute that has already sparked armed clashes in the capital, Mogadishu.
The Supreme Court's five-page judgment, reviewed by The Associated Press, rejected the president’s position that constitutional changes allow him to remain in office until 2027.
The court said parliament’s decision to extend presidential and parliamentary terms from four to five years did not give current officeholders another year in power. It ruled that their terms had already expired.
Judges gave political leaders 30 days to agree on how to hold elections and limited the government to routine administration pending a vote. They did not name a replacement president or specify what would happen if the deadlines were missed.
In announcing Chief Justice Baashe Yusuf Ahmed’s dismissal, the presidency cited complaints about the administration of justice and the need for judicial reform.
The Supreme Court rejected his removal, saying the president had violated the constitution and accusing him of trying to obstruct its review of the term extensions.
Local news outlet Hiiraan Online reported Friday that government troops had deployed around the Supreme Court on Thursday and that the chief justice had been ordered to leave. The AP could not independently verify the report.
Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who brought the challenge, welcomed the judgment and urged the president to negotiate.
Adnan Abdi Ali, a political analyst at the Somali Center for Studies in Mogadishu, questioned whether the ruling would be enforced.
“This ruling is unlikely to be implemented, as it comes at a time of ongoing electoral disputes,” he said.
The dispute also concerns how Somalis will vote. The president wants direct elections to replace a system in which clan representatives choose lawmakers, who then elect the president. Opposition leaders and the regional governments of Puntland and Jubaland have challenged his constitutional and electoral changes.
Ugandan troops had been deployed under a bilateral agreement with Somalia that helped recapture and hold territory against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants.
African Union peacekeepers plan to replace them at four bases critical to protecting Mogadishu, but it remains unclear who will secure the positions those peacekeepers leave behind. Uganda says its remaining forces, including AU peacekeepers, will leave by the end of 2027.
Al-Shabab still controls large rural areas and attacks Mogadishu and other cities.
Ahead of the U.N. political mission’s closure, Mohamed Husein Gaas, director of the Mogadishu-based RAAD Peace Research Institute, warned that competing claims to power could undermine cooperation among security forces.
“Somalia could find itself confronting a political crisis without an agreed mechanism to contain it,” he told the AP.
Associated Press writer Khaled Kazziha in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
FILE - African Union (AU) soldiers stand with their armored vehicles near a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Feb. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE -Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — A court in Tanzania convicted the country's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu of incitement Friday and sentenced him to four years in prison, but acquitted him of the more serious charge of treason.
Lissu, the chairman of the Chadema party, was found guilty of inciting people to disrupt last year’s election. The three-judge panel in Dar es Salaam ruled, however, that prosecutors had failed to prove he intended to intimidate the government. The treason charge carried a possible death sentence.
Lissu was arrested on April 9, 2025, after addressing a rally calling for electoral reforms and was charged with treason the following day.
Lissu, who has spent more than 18 months in detention, denied wrongdoing, saying his speech was part of a legitimate campaign.
“Those who are innocent, like me, do not apologize,” Lissu told the court. “You have sought out an offense that did not exist, and you have done so following political directives,” he said.
Lissu’s lead lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, said the defense planned to appeal and seek bail pending the appeal.
Amnesty International called for Lissu's conviction and sentence to be quashed and for his immediate and unconditional release. “The conviction and sentence cannot be considered the outcome of a fair trial,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Supporters chanted “Viva!” as Lissu arrived at court amid tight security and raised a clenched fist. His hair had grown longer during his detention, and he wore it in dreadlocks. His elder sister and several Chadema leaders attended the proceedings.
Lissu remained in custody during last year’s general election, in which presidential candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from competing.
His detention has been marked by disputes over access to his lawyers. After prison authorities allowed him to meet privately with his younger brother, he ended a brief hunger strike on Oct. 27, his lead lawyer, Rugemeleza Nshala, told The Associated Press.
The election triggered protests and deadly violence. An inquiry reported in April that at least 518 people had died. Its chairman, Mohamed Chande Othman, said the toll was likely higher because some families buried relatives without taking their bodies to morgues.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into the killings and reports that police removed bodies from mortuaries to undisclosed locations. Chadema estimated that about 2,000 people were killed, a figure the U.N. said it could not verify amid insecurity and an internet shutdown.
The judgment came days after Lissu’s elder brother, Alute Mughwai Lissu, died on Sunday. Lissu appealed to the court to release him so he could attend the burial.
“Please, let me go and lay Mzee Alute to rest,” he said.
Lissu was taken back to prison after sentencing.
He survived being shot 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt and has spent periods in exile, citing threats to his life.
Associated Press writer Khaled Kazziha in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
Tanzanian opposition leader and CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu arrives at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani)
Relatives and supporters of Tanzanian opposition leader and CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu react as he arrives at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani)
Tanzanian police officers stand guard as opposition leader and CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu arrives outside the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Calvin Kulaya)
Supporters of CHADEMA cheer as opposition leader Tundu Lissu arrives at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani)
Tanzanian opposition leader and CHADEMA Chairperson Tundu Lissu arrives at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani)
Tanzanian opposition leader and CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu waves to supporters at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani)
FILE -Main opposition leader Tundu Lissu arrives at the High Court of Tanzania as his treason trial continues before a three-judge bench in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Feb 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Florence Majani, File)
