Editing the Kampala Communiqué Will Not Solve Somalia’s Political Crisis

By Hassan Yusuf

A short video circulating widely on social media has reignited an important national conversation. In the clip, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appears to question why Somalia’s internal political issues were reflected in the Kampala summit communiqué, suggesting that such matters should not form part of a regional document. The remarks have generated predictable political reactions, but they also raise a much more fundamental question: if Somalia’s internal political affairs are already being discussed by regional leaders behind closed doors, what exactly is achieved by removing them from the final communiqué?

This is where the debate deserves greater honesty. A communiqué is not the source of a country’s political problems. It is merely a record of what leaders considered important enough to discuss. If Somalia’s political disagreements occupy a significant place during a regional summit attended by Heads of State and Government, then the issue is not the wording of the communiqué. The issue is why Somalia’s domestic politics have become significant enough to command the attention of the region.

No Somali would welcome unnecessary external involvement in national affairs. Every nation values its sovereignty and the right to determine its own political future. But sovereignty is not protected simply by objecting to language in diplomatic documents. Sovereignty is strengthened when national institutions are capable of resolving political disagreements without requiring regional mediation or international concern. The strongest demonstration of independence is not insisting that others remain silent; it is showing that the country’s own political system is functioning effectively.