A new analysis by Nairobi-based policy analyst Siyad Madey argues Somalia’s 1960 union lacked a valid legal foundation, renewing debate over Somaliland’s sovereignty, recognition, and the future of the Horn of Africa
HARGEISA, July 2, 2026 — As Somalia marks its 66th Independence Day, a prominent Horn of Africa policy analyst argues that the country’s annual celebration commemorates a political union that “never existed” in legally binding form, renewing debate overu Somaliland’s decades-long quest for international recognition.
In an opinion article published by The Middle East Forum Observer on July 1, Nairobi-based lawyer and policy analyst Siyad Madey contends that the legal foundations of the 1960 union between the former British Somaliland Protectorate and the former Italian-administered Trust Territory of Somalia were fundamentally flawed.
“The story is 66 years old this week, but the union it describes never existed,” Madey writes, arguing that separate legislative acts passed by the two territories in 1960 were never reconciled into a single, legally binding agreement.
According to the article, British Somaliland became an independent sovereign state on June 26, 1960, before its legislature approved a Union of Somaliland and Somalia Law the following day. Somalia’s legislature, Madey notes, instead adopted a different document, the Atto di Unione, “in principle,” which he argues carried no binding legal force.
Madey further argues that attempts to retroactively validate the union through presidential decrees and subsequent legislation failed to resolve what he describes as significant constitutional and legal deficiencies.
Quoting legal scholar Eugene Cotran, the article notes that the legal validity of the instruments establishing the union was considered “questionable,” a position the author says has never been overturned.
Referendum and Early Opposition
The article highlights what it describes as immediate resistance to the union in the former British Somaliland territory.
Madey points to the June 1961 constitutional referendum, writing that more than 60 percent of voters in the north rejected the new constitution, while the Somali National League boycotted the vote.
He also references the December 1961 attempted coup by junior Somaliland military officers seeking to restore Somaliland’s sovereignty. According to the article, the officers were later acquitted by a Mogadishu court after a judge concluded they had never taken an oath to serve the Somali Republic.
“The union survived anyway, held together by Pan-Somali sentiment and international indifference to the procedural wreckage underneath,” Madey writes.
Historical Grievances
The article argues that political marginalization and economic neglect characterized the relationship between Somaliland and successive governments in Mogadishu following unification.
Madey also cites atrocities committed under the government of former Somali leader Mohamed Siad Barre, stating that government forces killed an estimated 200,000 civilians in what is now Somaliland between 1987 and 1989.
Following the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991, Somaliland declared the restoration of its sovereignty within the borders of the former British Somaliland Protectorate.
“That restoration is now 35 years old—11 years older than the union it ended,” the author writes.
Criticism of Mogadishu’s Position
The article sharply criticizes the Somali federal government’s continued claim over Somaliland.
Madey argues that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s insistence that Somalia’s unity is “non-negotiable” conflicts with what he describes as growing divisions within Somalia’s own federal system.
He points to ongoing disputes involving Puntland, constitutional disagreements, and tensions with Jubaland as evidence that Somalia’s federal framework faces significant internal challenges.
“A government that cannot hold its existing federation together has no credible claim over a territory that left 35 years ago and has not looked back,” Madey writes.
The opinion piece also criticizes Somalia’s creation of the North Eastern State, encompassing parts of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions claimed by Somaliland, arguing that the move was intended to weaken Somaliland’s territorial claims based on former colonial borders.
Recognition Debate
Madey argues that the geopolitical landscape surrounding Somaliland has shifted following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in late 2025.
According to the article, the recognition moved Somaliland’s diplomatic campaign from the margins to the center of regional politics while prompting strong objections from Mogadishu.
The author also notes that more than 25 countries sent delegations to Somaliland’s 35th restoration anniversary celebrations in May 2026, describing this as evidence of increasing international engagement.
“The recognition question has moved from the margins to the center of Horn of Africa geopolitics, and no amount of ceremonial noise in Mogadishu on July 1 changes that,” Madey concludes.
