MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s Security Minister, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartag, has dismissed the deputy director of the Immigration and Citizenship Agency, Mohamed Kasim, following confirmation that the country’s e-visa system was hacked, compromising the personal data of more than 35,000 applicants.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Mr Fartag named Hussein Abdullahi Sheikh as Kasim’s replacement, saying the change was intended to strengthen the agency’s performance and operational efficiency at a moment of heightened scrutiny.
The reshuffle came only hours after the Immigration and Citizenship Agency acknowledged that its online visa platform had been breached. Officials confirmed an investigation was underway to determine who was behind the intrusion and to assess the full extent of the damage. The e-visa website has since gone offline.
Both the United States and the United Kingdom had earlier warned that sensitive information belonging to their citizens may have been exposed. The two governments urged travellers to carefully consider the risks of visiting Somalia while the breach remains unresolved.
Local media reports say some foreign diplomats and intelligence personnel from partner nations have temporarily left Somalia following the revelations, amid uncertainty over the scale and authenticity of the leaked data circulating online. Somali authorities have so far been cautious in publicly assessing the impact, though they continue to face pressure to reassure international partners and restore confidence in the system.
The incident marks the most significant cybersecurity breaches reported in Somalia’s history and raises fresh concerns about the resilience of the country’s digital infrastructure at a time when government services are increasingly moving online.
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