Three prominent Somali journalists, Ismail Sheikh Khalifa, Mikail Rashid Bare, and Isse Farah, have died consecutively in Mogadishu, leaving the Somali media fraternity in mourning.
Ismail Sheikh Khalifa, a veteran Somali journalist and media rights activist, passed away in Mogadishu for unspecified reasons. In 2018, Ismail was critically wounded when a bomb planted in his car exploded while leaving the TV studio where he hosts a weekly show. Since then, Ismail has undergone several operations and has been struggling with his health, which prevented him from working and caused financial problems. Days before his death, Ismail posted on Facebook that people only praise you when you die.
Mikahil Rashid Bare, a national media member, had been ill for the past few days at the Erdogan Ex Digfeer Hospital and finally passed away last month. Officials of the Ministry of Information of Somalia, where the deceased worked for a long time, have condoled the death of journalist Michael Barre. Michael, a veteran journalist, used to report for the national media from Djibouti, where he lived for a while, but recently he moved to Mogadishu, where he passed away.
Isse Farah was a prominent writer who worked for the October Star newspaper during the Central Government of Somalia. After the government collapsed, he contributed to the country’s radio stations and newspapers. He worked with the national media for the last decade until his passing. Isse served as the editor of the Dalka newspaper and authored numerous articles and dramas for Somali radio and newspapers. In addition, he shared his expertise by teaching young writers how to write scripts for television and radio.
The deaths of these three veteran journalists have come at a time when Somali journalists are not united to help each other and be accountable for their working media stations to provide medical assistance when needed. This marks a significant loss to the Somali media fraternity and highlights the ongoing challenges journalists face in Somalia, where they are often targeted for their reporting.
