Somalia’s Intelligence Power Struggle: Mahad Salad Poised to Return as NISA Chief Amid Unrest Within Sanbaloolshe’s Leadership
Ujasusi Blog’s Horn of Africa Monitoring Team
Mogadishu, May 2025 —
Unconfirmed but mounting reports from within Somalia’s security corridors suggest that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is considering re-appointing former intelligence chief Mahad Salad to lead the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). The potential shake-up comes amid increasing rumours that the current Director-General of NISA, Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, widely known as Sanbaloolshe, is planning to resign following growing criticism of his leadership and setbacks in the ongoing war against al-Shabaab.
If realised, this change would mark Mahad Salad’s dramatic return to the leadership of Somalia’s most powerful security institution, less than two years after he stepped down in favour of Sanbaloolshe, a seasoned figure with prior stints at the helm of NISA in both 2014 and 2017.