NIRA office scene sparked Social Media backlash

A photo that went viral on Monday morning sparked widespread outrage across Somali social media after it showed dozens of women sleeping on the bare ground outside a National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) office in Mogadishu. Captured overnight at one of the agency’s centers in the Benadir region, the image showed citizens, many of them mothers, forced to wait outside in hopes of obtaining national identification cards. The photo drew criticism online, with many Somalis questioning why people seeking essential government services were being subjected to unsafe and undignified conditions.

In response to the backlash, the Director General of NIRA Abdiweli Timacade released a statement acknowledging the incident and announcing measures to address them. The statement expressed “regret that citizens were queuing during inappropriate hours” and said the agency had increased its capacity by opening new registration centers, “allowing service provision to reach nearly 20,000 people per day.”

The public outcry prompted an intervention by the Prime Minister of Somalia, Hamza Abdi Barre, who visited a NIRA center on Monday morning to assess the situation firsthand. “The video we saw circulating on social media is unacceptable,” the Prime Minister said. “Young women should not be forced to come at night or sleep outside; it puts their safety at risk and it is not appropriate. Work schedules should be expanded so that the pressure decreases. It is important that services are made easier and more accessible for the public.”

This marks the second time in recent weeks that the Prime Minister has conducted an unannounced inspection in response to public complaints. Last month, he toured Aden Adde International Airport after widespread criticism of service quality and passenger experiences.

The rush at NIRA facilities comes amid a nationwide push by the current administration to accelerate the rollout of the National ID. For the past two years, the government has made possession of a National ID mandatory for accessing a wide range of public and private services, including telecommunications, financial services, and official documentation.

In a September address, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud noted the centrality of Somalia’s National ID system, stating that “without a National ID, a citizen’s legal identity and rights cannot be verified.” He announced that “all public and private institutions had been instructed to require a National ID before providing services, including banks, government agencies, and businesses.”

Despite the current administration’s push, Monday’s viral image has renewed concerns over whether the National ID system is prepared to accommodate the large number of citizens still awaiting registration. The current administration maintains that the rollout is essential for “security, service and governance.” However, challenges remain, notably the system’s capacity to absorb new registrants and resistance from some federal member states, including Puntland and Jubbaland, which have yet to formally recognize the initiative.