Somaliland National Television (SLNTV)

Somaliland National Television (SLNTV),Telefishanka Qaranka Somaliland, is the official state television broadcaster of the Somaliland government, headquartered in Hargeisa and operating under the Ministry of Information, Culture and National Guidance/Awareness. Per the Somaliland Ministry of Information, SLNTV was established in 2005 and initially covered Hargeisa and surrounding areas, later expanding its coverage. It primarily broadcasts in Somali, with some Arabic and English segments, and its programming includes public-awareness content as well as daily coverage conveying government messages and achievements. The ministry’s own description of SLNTV’s role, carrying daily programming that conveys “the messages and achievements of the government”, is itself central evidence supporting the State-Controlled classification rather than an independent public-service broadcaster classification.

Methodological note on jurisdiction

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has operated as a de facto state with its own governing institutions. In December 2025, Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent state. However, almost all states and major international organisations continue to support Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity: Somalia, the African Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) all rejected Israel’s recognition move. For methodological consistency with prior years and with RSF, the State Media Monitor dataset continues to classify Somaliland’s state-media outlets, SLNTV, Radio Hargeysa, SOLNA, and Dawan Media Group, under the country entry for Somalia, while making clear that they operate under Somaliland government structures, not under the Federal Government of Somalia in Mogadishu.

Media assets

Television: SLNTV

Ownership and governance

SLNTV is owned and operated within the Somaliland government’s information system. The Ministry of Information lists Somaliland National Television among its departments and describes its role in terms of public information, education, entertainment, and communication of government messages and achievements. Private television broadcasting began in Somaliland in 1997; SLNTV followed as the state broadcaster in 2005.

Cabdirasaaq Cismaan Maxamed was publicly identified by the Ministry of Information as Director of Somaliland National Television in October 2022. No current 2026 SLNTV director confirmation was identified in this review.

The 2024–26 period brought a major leadership transition at the political level. The 13 November 2024 Somaliland presidential election produced a peaceful transfer of power: opposition candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro / Cirro) of the Waddani Party defeated incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi of the Kulmiye Party, winning 63.92% of the vote against Bihi’s 34.81% and Faysal Ali Warabe’s less than 1% (UCID). The Somaliland Constitutional Court certified the results on 27 November 2024, and Cirro was inaugurated on 12 December 2024.

On 14 December 2024, President Cirro announced his cabinet, with Ahmed Yasin Sheikh Ali Ayaanle appointed as Minister of Information, Culture and National Guidance, confirmed by Somaliland’s House of Representatives on 6 January 2025 (with 65 votes). Ayaanle resigned in December 2025 following unrest linked to the Xeer Ciise ceremony. On 5 April 2026, President Cirro announced a major cabinet reshuffle, appointing Barkhad Jama Hirsi Batoon, the most-voted member of the House of Representatives in the 2021 elections, as the new Minister of Information, Culture and National Guidance/Awareness. The ministry’s English title appears variously as “Information, Culture and National Guidance” or “Information, Culture and Awareness,” reflecting translation/rendering of Wacyigelinta.

SLNTV is institutionally housed within the Ministry of Information; no independent appointment framework, board, or public-service statute was identified in the public sources reviewed. Historical reports document politically controlled appointments, but a current statutory appointment mechanism for SLNTV leadership was not identified in this review.

Source of funding and budget

Detailed standalone budget disclosures for SLNTV were not identified in the public sources reviewed. Core operations appear to be supported through Somaliland government and Ministry of Information structures. The Somaliland government’s broader fiscal environment is heavily reliant on customs duties, port revenue (especially Berbera), diaspora remittances, and selected donor support; donor support to Somaliland’s state media has historically been more limited than that received by FGS-level outlets, in part because international donor relationships with Somaliland are themselves complicated by Somaliland’s contested international status.

The broader macroeconomic context, Somaliland’s contested international status restricting access to international finance, the unresolved Las Anod/Sool dispute since 2023, and the disputed 1 January 2024 Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia (which under the previous Bihi administration offered Ethiopia naval base access at the Port of Berbera in exchange for an “in-depth assessment” toward recognition), continues to constrain the broader funding environment for state media.

Editorial independence

SLNTV does not show meaningful institutional separation from the Somaliland executive. It is housed in the Ministry of Information, and the ministry’s own description says SLNTV carries daily programming that conveys government messages and achievements. The 2005 election campaign saw SLNTV accused of broadcasting propaganda rather than even-handed coverage; the structural alignment between state media and the Somaliland executive branch persists across administrations rather than being a function of any single one.

The 2024–2026 period was particularly defining for Somaliland’s political environment. Following Cirro’s inauguration in December 2024, SLNTV’s coverage shifted to amplify the new administration’s reform agenda, the Las Anod/Sool dispute, foreign-policy positioning, and Somaliland’s recognition campaign, including coverage of the U.S. House bill H.R. 10402, the Republic of Somaliland Independence Act, introduced on 12 December 2024 by Rep. Scott Perry with cosponsor Rep. Andrew Ogles, and referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill was not equivalent to U.S. recognition, which has not occurred. SLNTV’s most consequential international-coverage moment came in December 2025, when Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent state. Somalia, the African Union, and the OIC rejected the move, while Somaliland state media including SLNTV framed it as a historic diplomatic breakthrough.

The Las Anod/Sool dispute, which began with armed clashes in February 2023 between Somaliland forces and SSC-Khatumo (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn) clan militia forces who demanded direct administration from Mogadishu, remains unresolved and continues to shape Somaliland’s security and political environment. Somaliland lost territorial control of parts of Sool in 2023, and the conflict was widely cited by analysts as a contributing factor in Bihi’s 2024 electoral defeat. SLNTV has consistently framed the conflict in Somaliland government terms.

The press freedom environment in Somaliland operates under structures separate from the Federal Government of Somalia. CPJ reported that Ahmed-Zaki Ibrahim Mohamud, founder of Warrame Media, was detained in Hargeisa from 22 February 2026 without formal charges, and remained in custody as of early May 2026; Abdiqaadir Mohamed (“Ishqi”) was arrested in Borama on 5 March 2026 and released days later. SJS has reported a broader pattern of arrests, threats, and intimidation affecting journalists in both Somalia and Somaliland during 2026.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Somalia 126th of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, and reports Somaliland under the Somalia country entry. RSF describes Somalia as one of Africa’s most dangerous countries for journalists, with more than 50 media professionals killed since 2010. Several FGS-jurisdiction press-freedom incidents from 2026, including the 9 May 2026 Guardian report on the detention and beating of Mohamed Bulbul and two colleagues by Somali police, the 15 April 2026 Banadir Regional Police Commander warning, and the 16 April 2026 South West State reporting ban — relate to FGS-administered jurisdictions rather than Somaliland-administered ones. They form part of the wider Somali-language media context but should not be conflated with Somaliland-administered incidents.

AI and digital policy

SLNTV maintains digital/social distribution, including its official X/Twitter account @SLNTV (~22.2K followers) and other social channels. No public SLNTV-specific policy on AI-generated content, synthetic-media disclosure, or content provenance (such as C2PA) was identified in this review. No Somaliland-government-level AI policy comparable to the FGS Digital Transformation Strategy 2025–2030 consultation or Somali National AI Center (founded October 2024) has been publicly issued for state media as of early 2026. The structural pattern of state-media AI/content-provenance silence, observed across the FGS group, extends to the Somaliland group as well.

May 2026