The Somali liberation movement had unique democratic features, almost unlike any other in the African continent. The SYL as the leading liberation movement started its journey as a consensus-based party and over time devel- oped into an open democratic institution without an armed wing. This quality partly reflected precolonial Somali tradition of equality but also echoed the real- ity of the emerging postcolonial world. Another major feature of the movement was the absence of an overbearing leader who was considered indispensable for liberation. Osman and the group around him who led the SYL were as devoted to independence as any other African leader; however, they believed that the demo- cratic process was the essence of liberation and consequently practiced it. The combination of these two qualities set Somalia apart from other African nations and gave the country a chance to deepen its democracy after independence.

Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, loc. 471