Somalia regional lawmaker Fahima Qooje resigns, rejoins Somaliland

HARGEISA (Somaliguardian) – One of the most prominent civilian figures associated with the 2023 Dhulbahante uprising has resigned from Somalia’s newest federal member state and rejoined Somaliland, marking a dramatic political reversal by a woman who once became one of the public faces of the campaign against Somaliland’s control of Sool and parts of Togdheer.

Fahima Qooje, a lawmaker in the Northeastern Somalia state, announced on Friday that she had resigned from her parliamentary seat and had completely abandoned the idea of Greater Somalia, saying she was rejoining Somaliland.

Qooje became widely known during the 2023 conflict for her prominent role in mobilizing young people from the Harti community to join the Dhulbahante uprising against Somaliland. Beyond her public appeals, she also appeared in frontline videos carrying and firing an AK-47, making her one of the conflict’s most recognizable civilian figures and a powerful symbol of the campaign to remove Somaliland’s control over Sool and parts of the Togdheer region, including Las Anod.

The conflict ultimately resulted in Somaliland losing control of most of the Sool region and parts of the Togdheer region after administering the areas for nearly two decades. The territory later became part of Somalia’s newest federal member state.

Qooje’s decision represents a striking departure from the position she consistently advocated during the conflict. At the time, she frequently described Somaliland as a separatist territory and argued that it should be brought back under Somalia’s unity by force.

Despite the significance of her announcement, Qooje did not explain what prompted her decision to abandon that position and return to Somaliland.

Her resignation is likely to draw particular attention because of the symbolic role she played during the conflict. While she became one of the uprising’s most recognizable public figures, the fighting in which she played a prominent role left thousands dead, while many more continue to live with the physical and psychological scars of the conflict.

Qooje is not the first Dhulbahante politician to defect to Somaliland. Over the past two decades, a number of politicians from the community have also changed allegiance after previously pursuing opposing political paths, some of which were linked to conflicts that claimed lives. Many believe those defections were driven by financial incentives.

Her departure also comes at a time when political tensions continue to simmer beneath the surface in Somalia’s newest federal member state. The administration remains under acute fiscal strain as it seeks to rebuild after the war, operating with limited financial resources while attempting to navigate a difficult post-conflict recovery.

Although Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu initially promised to inject substantial financial support into the region, the administration has largely been left to confront its economic challenges without the level of assistance many local leaders had anticipated to accelerate reconstruction and broader economic recovery.

Qooje’s resignation adds a new political dimension to an already delicate landscape, underscoring the continuing challenges facing Somalia’s newest federal member state as it balances post-war reconstruction, economic hardship and evolving political loyalties, while also highlighting the fluid and often unpredictable nature of politics surrounding Somaliland, Sool and the wider Somalia.

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