Public illiteracy hid the dangers of Somali corruption from voters.

Evidence

It seems that enough SYL members who despised the rush toward corruption were disinclined to openly debate the issue in the assembly or in the party’s gatherings. Sharmarkee’s view that many members of the CC and the parliamentary group were “domesticated” aptly described the situation. Illiteracy among the population and the absence of vibrant civic organizations that could educate the public made the dangers and harm of corruption invisible. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 427

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that public ignorance enabled elite corruption parallels the civic-organizations theme of the democratic experiment; illiteracy and weak civil society removed checks on power.