By Ismail H. Warsame ©2025 Warsame Digital Media (WDM)
MOGADISHU, GAROWE, HARGESIA – A new, digital tollgate has been erected at Somalia’s airports. Its target? Not foreign visitors, but the nation’s own sons and daughters. The Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) E-Visa system, implemented in Mogadishu, to be adopted in Garowe (Puntland), and mirrored in Hargeisa (Somaliland), is not a tool of modernization. It is a brazen act of constitutional betrayal and state-sanctioned extortion against the Somali diaspora.
The Unconstitutional Toll
The scheme is a direct assault on Somali citizenship. Article 8 of the Provisional Federal Constitution is unequivocal: every person of Somali origin has an inalienable right to citizenship. This right is not contingent on the passport one holds. Dual citizenship is explicitly protected.
Yet, the FGS, along with regional administrations, has chosen to monetize this birthright. By charging Somali citizens—often those holding foreign travel documents—a $60 fee for an “E-Visa” to enter their own homeland, these governments are not processing immigration; they are running a protection racket. The dystopian reality is that Somalis must now pay for the privilege of being Somali. This is not policy; it is piracy, a chilling echo of the warlord checkpoints of the past, now digitized and bureaucratized.
From Remittance Lifeline to Government ATM
The irony is devastating. The very diaspora being shaken down is the same group that sustains the Somali economy with over $2 billion in annual remittances—the nation’s most vital financial lifeline. These funds support families, build communities, and fuel small businesses. This policy punishes the backbone of the nation’s survival, transforming returning family members into revenue streams. It is a profound insult and a catastrophic failure of moral governance.
A Kleptocratic System, Not a Digital One
Sold under the guise of “security” and “digital transformation,” the E-Visa program raises alarming questions:
· Where does the money go? The revenue stream is opaque, lacking public accountability or oversight, making it a perfect vehicle for graft.
· Who controls the data? The biometric and financial information of Somali citizens is being harvested and stored by third-party contractors abroad, far from the oversight of the Somali Immigration and Naturalization Agency. This constitutes a severe national security and privacy risk.
Somalia has effectively outsourced its sovereignty and turned its borders into a privatized, for-profit enterprise.
WDM’s Final Call: This Must End
This practice is a fundamental breach of the social contract. Governments are meant to protect citizens, not prey upon them.
The message from Warsame Digital Media is clear: This unconstitutional extortion must cease immediately.
The administrations in Mogadishu, Garowe, and Hargeisa are playing with fire. The diaspora will not tolerate being treated as foreigners in their own land. The political backlash for funding their own humiliation will be severe and deserved.
Repeal this illegal fee. Respect the Constitution. Honor your citizens.
Warsame Policy & Media Network (WAPMEN) 