Deni Launches Scathing Attack on Hassan Sheikh as Somalia’s Political Crisis Deepens

Garowe (WDN)- Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni delivered one of the most consequential and confrontational speeches of Somalia’s current political era this week, accusing former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of dismantling the country’s federal system, violating constitutional agreements, destabilizing regional administrations, and pushing Somalia toward an unprecedented political crisis.

Addressing lawmakers during the opening of the 58th session of the Puntland Parliament in Garowe, Deni painted a stark picture of a nation increasingly consumed by constitutional disputes, institutional paralysis, and deepening mistrust between Mogadishu and the federal member states.

The speech, which lasted for an extended period and covered a broad range of political and security issues, reflected the growing frustration within Puntland’s leadership over what it views as the systematic erosion of the federal framework that emerged after years of reconciliation and state-building efforts.

According to Deni, the federal system was designed as a power-sharing arrangement intended to prevent the re-emergence of centralized rule and political domination by any single group or leader. However, he argued that those principles have been steadily undermined.