Dr. Idil Osman, an academic in global media and communications who specialises in Somalia, posits that the government has made notable progress and that perhaps, counterintuitively, that triggers a unique sensitivity to criticism or negative coverage. "The current regime has made improvements in key government areas such as the economy, constituting the National Development Plan, advocating for debt relief and consolidation of different humanitarian efforts. This in comparison to previous governments seems like much positive progress has been made and so, the government perhaps expects to be lauded for this,” she commented.

Jamal Osman says that it’s not just politicians and business people, but also his colleagues who are to blame: media workers will also take advantage of the environment, offering positive coverage, or warning of a tarnished reputation is if a fee is not paid. "Somali politicians are also victims of blackmailing,” he explained. "Journalists will threaten and say if you don’t do so-and-so I’ll threaten that you slept with a young girl,” he offered as an example. Osman thinks the lack of resources fuels the problem on all sides.

Fatal corruption combined with fear of retribution from Africa’s most effective terrorist group makes for a climate where speaking the truth is an act of life-risking defiance. Still, people like Osman, Moalimuu and Mumin persist. Mumin is a firm believer in press freedom. "I believe free and fearless journalism is important for a country like Somalia,” he wrote in an email. "It is a right enshrined in the country’s constitution and no government should ever try to take away these basic rights from the Somali people.”