By Mohamed Dhugad
To the Honourable Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mr. Hamza Abdi Barre, while your government celebrates its scorecard of service, a different story is being lived on the ground by ordinary citizens; a story of disrespect, monopoly, and neglect at the hands of private service providers, particularly at the nation’s gateway: the airport.
What should be a symbol of sovereignty and order has instead become a domain of unchecked impunity. Companies like Sahal Shuttle operate in ways that suggest the state is absent, as though the brave soldiers who secure that very airport under extreme conditions; heat, noise, and threat, are invisible. These companies behave as though the tarmac they use, the checkpoints they pass, and the infrastructure they profit from were gifts from the sky – not hard-won developments by a government that is gradually reclaiming dignity for its people.
This is not just a transportation issue. This is about respect for state authority, recognition of public service, and above all, the dignity of the Somali citizen. It is about whether private actors are allowed to operate with disregard for the public they serve and the government under which they claim to be licensed.
Mr. Prime Minister, I am aware that Somalia is still rising from the ashes. We are not yet at the level of global systems where one can book a ride from home to airport at a tap, with transparency and ease. We are not asking for miracles. We are asking for basic dignity. For our people to feel that their government sees them, hears them, and protects them – not just from terror, but from exploitation and humiliation in everyday experiences.
When you walked through Aden Adde International Airport last week as a follow up to your public and televised question and answer, Mr. Prime Minister, you carried with you the hopes of every Somali traveller who has endured broken machines, endless queues, and unkept promises of service. Your presence gave us reason to believe that long-ignored complaints may finally be heard. But while you inspected the halls of the airport itself, the story of dysfunction begins earlier at the very gate of Sahal Terminal.
On 17 June 2025, I wrote in this very Somali Stream about the failures of Sahal, calling it a modern disgrace at Mogadishu’s airport gate. In that piece, I detailed the humiliations faced by ordinary citizens, the broken systems, and the lack of accountability. Since then, Sahal has chosen silence. They have ignored public concerns, failed to establish even the most basic social media accounts or feedback mechanisms, and continued to operate as if citizens’ voices do not matter. This absence of engagement is not an oversight. It is a deliberate neglect of service improvement and public accountability.
In addition to the highly expensive fees Sahal already charges, travellers are forced to pay an unnecessary extra fee of fifty cents for a ticket printout. This is a compulsory payment, even though neither the airport nor the airlines require travellers to carry a hard copy of their ticket. Most passengers throw these papers away immediately after passing Sahal, creating piles of waste that contribute to environmental harm. This practice is both exploitative and irresponsible, and it reveals how little Sahal values either the financial dignity of citizens or the protection of our shared environment.
The failure to respond to feedback is not just poor customer service. It is a sign of contempt for the very public the terminal is supposed to serve. In a time when every institution, even small private businesses, create channels for customer communication, Sahal’s refusal to do the same demonstrates a culture of indifference. Citizens cannot email, call, or even post concerns on an official platform. Complaints echo in the void while the daily suffering of travellerscontinues without acknowledgment. This kind of neglect has eroded public trust in our institutions and makes people feel abandoned at the very threshold of the country.
On the national stage, you have shown a commendable willingness to listen to ordinary citizens. At a recent public forum, a young woman told you how her ministry had ignored her CV and denied her a permanent position. You immediately ordered your staff to bring her to your office, and within days she was received and heard. That single act of responsiveness inspired many Somalis who long for leaders who pay attention to individual voices. But this is exactly why the neglect at Sahal stands out so painfully. If the complaint of one citizen can reach your desk and secure action, why not the long-standing outcry of thousands who pass daily through Sahal Terminal? The humiliation, the malfunctioning equipment, the endless waiting, the needless extra charges, and the silence in the face of public demands are not isolated grievances. They are the shared experience of the nation.
Your recent directives to Aden Adde management to improve machines, equipment, and services have created a wave of public expectation. For the first time in a long while, many Somalis felt there might be accountability in our airport system. But this wave will crash against the rocks of disappointment if reforms do not extend to Sahal. It is here, at the gate, that your leadership will be tested most visibly. Sahal is the true litmus test of change. If it remains broken, the entire reform effort risks being seen as symbolic.
For travellers, Sahal is more than a security filter area. It is the face of Somalia. It is the first experience that visitors, investors, and returning citizens encounter. What they see there, confusion, malfunctioning machines, exploitation through unnecessary fees, and a total lack of care, reflects poorly not just on the terminal but on the state itself. No matter how advanced the improvements within Aden Adde may be, if the entrance point remains neglected, the impression is already lost.
Mr. Prime Minister, Somalia needs you most at the gate. Fixing Sahal is not just about repairing equipment or shortening queues. It is about restoring trust between the state and its citizens. It is about proving that leadership listens to public complaints and acts on them. It is about showing that the dignity of Somali travelers matters as much as the efficiency of machines.
This moment offers you the chance to make Sahal the new symbol, not of disgrace but of transformation. Reforming the gate will send a powerful message that no institution, however small or entrenched, is beyond accountability. It will prove that reform is real, not cosmetic, and that the government’s promises extend to where citizens feel them most directly.
We are ready to stand behind a government that acts. But we will not forget if our voices remain unheard. The country is watching, and Sahal too is waiting.
I hereby appeal to you, not just as the Head of Government, but as a leader who is trying to heal a nation, to intervene. Ensure that companies like Sahal and others who profit from the public; operate within the bounds of respect, accountability, and state oversight.
In these moments, small, uncelebrated, and untelevised, is where your legacy will be written. Not only in the corridors of ministries, but in the hearts of citizens who will remember you as the Prime Minister who, even amidst adversity, gave them a reason to feel human again.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Somali Stream.