Somali cleric Ali Wajis endorses killing of government critics

On Sep 6, 2026

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A prominent pro-government religious scholar told a gathering of senior Somali officials, including the defense minister, on Sunday that people who oppose the administration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud should be treated as terrorists and killed – a statement that has alarmed opposition figures already on edge after a drone strike wounded a former security chief turned government critic on Thursday.

Sheikh Ali Wajis, a cleric known for his consistent public backing of the Federal Government, made the remarks at a meeting attended by government officials, including the Minister of Defense.

“Anyone who fights Somalia’s current government should face the same punishment as terrorists and should be killed,” Wajis told the gathering.

Neither Wajis nor the Ministry of Defense could be reached for comment. Villa Somalia had not issued a statement responding to the remarks as of publication, and no official who attended Sunday’s meeting has publicly distanced the government from them.

Coming on the heels of an attack on an opposition figure

Wajis’s remarks land just days after a strike on the residence of Gen. Mahad Abdirahman Aden, widely known as “Taliye Shub,” in the border town of Doolow, in the Gedo region. Gen. Mahad, Somalia’s former Custodial Corps commander, was wounded in the attack along with his wife and several others; at least one person, reported to be an Ethiopian domestic worker, was killed. He was evacuated for treatment across the border in Ethiopia.

Gen. Mahad, who was removed from his post earlier this year and briefly placed under house arrest, has since emerged as a vocal critic of the Federal Government and is aligned with the political camp of former Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed “Laftagareen.” Authorities in Jubaland have accused Turkish military aircraft of carrying out the strike, calling it a deliberate, politically motivated attack tied to Gen. Mahad’s opposition to Mogadishu. In a statement, Jubaland said two missiles were fired, with one also striking the residence of Doolow’s district commissioner.

The Federal Government has denied any involvement in an airstrike, offering a different account of what caused the damage to the house. Turkey, which has become one of Somalia’s most significant military partners, providing training, equipment and air support, has not publicly responded to the accusation.

The disputed strike triggered protests in Doolow, with residents demanding an independent investigation into who was responsible and why Gen. Mahad’s residence was targeted.

A cleric with a history of hardline rhetoric

This is not the first time Wajis, who has served as an adviser to successive Somali administrations, has taken a hardline public stance in defense of the government. In April, as Somali National Army desertions mounted during Al-Shabab’s offensive in the Shabelle regions, Wajis publicly branded soldiers who fled their posts as apostates and called for their arrest – remarks that were echoed at the time by a senior Custodial Corps commander, who warned that deserters and their families could face arrest or execution.

His latest comments arrive at a moment of unusually sharp strain between Mogadishu and Somalia’s federal member states. Jubaland, Puntland and ousted Southwest administration have all rejected constitutional amendments extending federal institutions’ mandates, and have formally suspended ties with the Federal Government, accusing it of interference in their political and security affairs.

Why it matters

Coming so soon after an unresolved and contested attack on a prominent opposition-aligned general, a call from a cleric closely associated with the presidency – delivered in front of the defense minister – for opponents of the government to be killed is likely to deepen fears among opposition figures and federal member states that political dissent in Somalia is being conflated with terrorism. Independent verification of the strike’s origin, and any government response to Wajis’s remarks, remained pending as of publication.

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