A home health company tied to the family of former Somali ruler Mohamed Siad Barre received more than $1.8 million in Medicare funds in Ohio, the New York Post reported. The Post said Deka Mohamed Siad, 69, a daughter of Barre, and her late husband, former ambassador Abdikarim Ali Omar, ran Vanguard Home Health Care, which closed after Omar’s death in 2021.
What the Post reported about the Ohio business
The Post reported Vanguard appeared to be a legitimate operation that filed required paperwork while active. The outlet said the firm drew Medicare reimbursements exceeding $1.8 million before winding down following Omar’s death.
Barre family in Columbus—and rising anger
The Post reported that Deka and her brother, Ayanle Mohamed Siad, 61, settled near Columbus after the regime fell in 1991, joining a Somali community the outlet described as roughly 70,000 strong. According to the Post, that proximity to refugees who fled the dictatorship has stirred anger and prompted some residents to call for federal authorities to examine the family’s conduct during the Barre era.
Ali-Guban Mohamed, 64, who told the Post his relatives were killed by Barre’s forces, said he was shocked to see Ayanle at a local mosque. “Siad Barre and his men committed so many war crimes so I was shocked to see his son [Ayanle] in the mosque enjoying his freedom,” he told the Post.
Researcher: Son held real power in regime
Oxford researcher Mohamed Haji Ingiriis told the Post that after Barre was injured in a car accident, Ayanle ran day-to-day government affairs from Villa Somalia and could hire or fire officials at will.
The Post reported that today Ayanle owns a translation firm, has a tie to a Columbus coffee shop, and launched a nonprofit in 2004. The Post also said he has not publicly condemned his father.
Atrocities documented and a past court ruling
Barre seized power in a 1969 coup and ruled for 21 years, according to the Post. The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) describes mass violence against the Isaaq clan in the late 1980s as the Isaaq genocide. CJA reports that aerial bombardment destroyed about 70% of Hargeisa and killed more than 5,000 civilians, and that nearly half a million Somalis fled to Ethiopia.
The Post also cited a 2012 federal court ruling that found former Somali defense minister Mohamed Ali Samantar liable for atrocities and ordered him to pay $21 million.
Calls for investigation
Activist Suleiman Bolaleh, who the Post said documented the regime’s crimes, urged scrutiny now: “I am calling for an investigation to be opened against his family to find out exactly what they were doing during the civil war, what they know and to give up any proceeds they may have inherited from this criminal genocidal dictator,” he told the Post.
DailyHeadlines.net has not independently verified the Post’s reporting.
