Somaliland’s Internet Price Hike Reversed Amid Allegations of Government-Corporate Collusion and Diversion Tactics

Oligarchs and State Collusion: How Somaliland’s Internet Price Hike Ploy Unraveled

Hargeisa, Somaliland – President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro’s reversal of a 100% internet price increase has not quelled allegations of state-corporate collusion. Critics contend the telecommunications crisis was engineered to distract from the administration’s political scandals and security failures.

This clumsy disinformation attempt forced President Irro into a public retreat, compelling Somaliland’s telecommunication oligarchy to suspend the price hike.

The scandal, involving fabricated evidence to crush dissent, exposed institutional capture and the government’s willingness to prioritize corporate interests over citizens’ rights.

The Price Shock and the Protest Crackdown

The crisis erupted on August 9th when Somaliland’s three telecommunications giants—Telesom, SOMTEL, and Soltelco—executed a synchronized doubling of internet prices. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology immediately endorsed the hikes, citing nebulous needs for “quality services” without substantiating the unprecedented increase.

Public fury was instantaneous. Citizen Guleid Ahmed Jama (Guleid Dafac) exercised his constitutional right, formally requesting permission from the Ministry of Interior on August 10th to organize a peaceful demonstration against the predatory pricing.

The ministry responded with an outright lie, publicly claiming “no request had been received.” Simultaneously, and in a breathtaking act of bad faith, it circulated an image of Dafac’s actual request letter—stamped with a large, red “FAKE” – attempting to discredit him. This brazen fabrication, quickly exposed on social media, transformed a pricing dispute into a full-blown constitutional crisis, revealing the lengths to which the state would go to shield the telecom cartel.

Presidential Retreat and Unanswered Questions

Facing a tsunami of public outrage over the exposed lie, President Irro hastily convened a meeting with the CEOs of Telesom, Somtel, and Soltelco. Within hours, he announced an indefinite “suspension” of the price hikes, framing it as responsive governance.

The Official Line: “The president listened to the concerns of the people,” a government spokesperson stated.

The Glaring Omission: The spokesperson pointedly refused to address the Ministry of Interior’s fabrication of evidence – an act undermining fundamental democratic rights for which no explanation or accountability has been offered.

The reversal marked a significant defeat for both the telecom giants and the ministries that initially greenlit their coordinated move. Industry analysts noted that such simultaneous pricing actions by the dominant trio are unprecedented and imply extensive prior coordination, likely with government knowledge or acquiescence.

The Diversionary Tactic: Scandal and Misdirection

The timing of the price hike, immediately following intense political scandals, fueled widespread belief it was a government-orchestrated diversion. Critics point to two major crises engulfing the Irro administration:

1. The Northeastern State Provocation: Somaliland’s government vehemently denounced the recent declaration of a “Northeastern State” administration in Las Anod by Somalia’s fragile federal government as an “illegal” incursion threatening Somaliland’s territorial integrity. This move, seen as instigated by Mogadishu to influence Somali elections, represented a significant failure of Irro’s foreign and security policy. Security concerns are particularly acute, with reports of increased Al-Shabaab activity in the Las Anod region.
2. Hargeisa Security Meltdown and the Silent President: The capital city, long considered relatively secure, was shaken by the brutal, unsolved murders of two young men. The police described it as a “planned murder” but provided no details or arrests, eroding public confidence. The victims’ prolonged hospitalization and eventual burial became a national moment. President Irro’s conspicuous absence from the funeral contrasted sharply with the presence and vocal call for justice by former President Muse Bihi Abdi. Bihi’s speech, urging public cooperation with security forces and demanding government action, resonated widely on social media, amplifying criticism of Irro’s perceived detachment and the government’s security failures.

Table: Irro Government Scandals Preceding Price Hike

“The government is drowning in its own failures – the Las Anod betrayal and the collapse of security in Hargeisa,” stated a prominent civil society activist speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal. “This internet price hike, dropped without justification right after the funerals, reeks of a desperate ploy to change the narrative and manufacture a new crisis they can claim to ‘solve’.”

The Web of Capture: Oligarchs, Revolving Doors, and State Debt

The government’s readiness to back the price hikes and suppress protest stems from a deep, systemic network binding the state to the telecom oligarchy:

• The Corporate Empires: Telesom, Somtel, and Soltelco are not standalone entities. Somtel is owned by the Dahabshiil Group, while Telesom is part of the Hormuud Group conglomerate. These parent companies hold vast interests across Somaliland’s economy – banking, money transfer, real estate, electricity, and transportation.

The Revolving Door: A review reveals systematic colonization of the state by telecom interests:

• The Minister of the Presidency is a former Telesom executive.
• The Head of National Intelligence is a former Dahabshiil employee.
• The Minister of Aviation built his career at Somtel (Dahabshiil).
• The Chairman of the ruling Waddani party is a former Dahabshiil Group executive.

This pattern, spanning administrations, ensures key regulators often rule on matters affecting former employers or potential future benefactors.

Financial Debt

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Financial Captivity: The Somaliland government is deeply indebted to these same conglomerates. Industry sources confirm they act as the state’s de facto lenders of last resort. This creates an existential conflict: robust regulation or challenging price collusion risks triggering a credit cutoff, potentially collapsing state finances. The government is less a regulator and more a hostage to its creditors.

Table: Telecom Ownership & Influence Network

Democratic Erosion and the Silence of Institutions

Despite the gravity of a ministry fabricating evidence to criminalize lawful protest, Somaliland’s democratic institutions have shown alarming weakness:

• Parliamentary Muteness: The opposition-dominated legislature has announced no investigations or hearings into the Interior Ministry’s actions, a stark failure of oversight on a fundamental rights violation.
• Tamed Media: Major media outlets provided muted coverage, focusing on the price hike suspension while downplaying the government’s attempt to suppress dissent. Journalists privately hint at pressure, suggesting the oligarchy’s influence extends deeply into the fourth estate.
• Hypocrisy Exposed: The episode highlights a brutal irony. President Irro and his Waddani party rose to prominence by championing protest rights and challenging government overreach while in opposition. Now in power, they deployed state deception to deny those same rights, betraying their foundational principles.

Unresolved Questions and the Path Ahead

While the price hike suspension is a tactical victory for public pressure, it resolves nothing fundamental. Critical questions remain:

1. Will any official face consequences for fabricating evidence against a citizen?
2. Why did Parliament and opposition MPs remain silent on this constitutional breach?
3. What explicit or implicit agreement existed between the government and the telecoms regarding the timing and scale of the hike?
4. How will President Irro address the systemic corruption and state capture enabling this scandal? Will he challenge the oligarchs, or merely placate the public until the next crisis?
5. Can Somaliland’s hybrid democratic system, often hailed as a regional model, survive when corporate power so thoroughly infiltrates and compromises the state?

The unraveling of the internet price hike ploy offers Somaliland a fleeting moment of clarity. It exposes a governance system where a cabal of business interests, operating through financial leverage and personnel placement, can manipulate policy and subvert democratic rights with impunity.

President Irro’s retreat on pricing is a start, but only a systemic dismantling of the mechanisms of state capture will prevent the next, potentially more sophisticated, assault on Somaliland’s fragile democracy. The public, having forced one climb-down, must now demand nothing less.