United Nations human rights experts have condemned the Somali Government's dismissal of Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed, calling it an unlawful attack on the independence of the judiciary and demanding that he be restored to office.

In a statement issued in Geneva on Thursday, 12 November 2026, the experts said the removal of the chief justice by presidential decree on 4 November did not follow constitutional procedures, including approval by parliament or a proposal from the Judicial Services Commission.

“We strongly condemn this blatant interference with the independence of the judiciary,” the experts said. “The unilateral dismissal of the Chief Justice by presidential decree did not follow constitutional procedures. His quick replacement, within days and without following legal procedures, undermines the rule of law.”

Court ruled presidential term had expired

The dismissal came the night before the Supreme Court was due to rule on the constitutionality of measures extending the terms of the president and parliament from four to five years.

On 5 November, five judges of the court's Constitutional Division went ahead with the case, ruling that the extensions were unlawful and that the terms of both parliament and the president had expired. The judges ordered elections within 90 days and declared the chief justice's dismissal unconstitutional, saying it had sought to obstruct the court's consideration of the case.

According to the UN experts, the government refused to comply with the rulings and instead deployed hundreds of security personnel to the Supreme Court to disrupt and intimidate the court. Seven Supreme Court judges had their personal security protection withdrawn despite the risks to their safety, and were banned from travelling.

Somalia's former chief justice had earlier said that more than 300 security forces had “militarily occupied” the Supreme Court, and that he and other judges had taken refuge at the home of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Replacement sworn in within days

On 7 November, a ceremony was held to swear in Ibrahim Idle Suleiman, a former presidential legal adviser, as the purported new chief justice. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the ceremony.

The UN experts said judges must be free to decide cases without improper influence, pressure, threat or interference, and may be suspended or removed only for incapacity or behaviour that makes them unfit for office.

“The lawfully appointed Chief Justice Ahmed must be restored to office and his security and that of all other judges must be guaranteed,” the experts said. They also called on security forces to stand down and for the judges' personal protection to be reinstated urgently.

Concerns over wider stability

The experts warned that irregular and contested constitutional reform processes and the lack of an independent judiciary could undermine Somalia's counter-terrorism and stabilisation efforts at a time of grave danger from the Islamist militant group Al Shabaab.

The Somali Future Council, an opposition coalition led by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has condemned the seizure of the court and described it as an assault on the country's highest judicial institution.

The dispute has left Somalia facing a deepening constitutional crisis, with the government and the court offering rival accounts of who lawfully holds the country's top judicial office.

Sources: UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), HornDiplomat