Security forces seized top court, Somalia’s ex-chief justice says

Somalia is in uncharted political territory. At its center is an unprecedented Supreme Court ruling declaring Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's presidency unconstitutional. The judgment has deepened a constitutional crisis and a standoff between the executive and the judiciary. The president has since dismissed the Chief Justice Bashir Yusuf Ahmed. He rejected the move as unprocedural and says judges are living in fear. The Supreme Court was taken over by a force of at least 300 security personnel comprising members of the military, police, intelligence services and custodial corps took control of the Supreme Court. The court was occupied using military vehicles mounted with weapons. The president's four-year mandate was due to expire in May, but his administration extended it by a year through constitutional changes approved by parliament in March, prompting a former president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, to approach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's ruling restores constitutional institutions to the path of legality by ensuring that elected institutions operate within the limits set by the constitution. No individual can act simply because it is what they personally wish to do. It's also ordered elections to be held within 90 days, but the executive has rejected the ruling.