For more than a decade, Jama Mohamed has been one of the most influential figures in Lewiston’s Somali immigrant community.
He has served as Lewiston’s first Somali elected School Committee member, a city councilor, co-founded one of the city’s largest immigrant service organizations, sat on the board of the Bartlett Street mosque, and built a reputation as a community advocate whose voice has carried weight in City Hall and throughout Lewiston’s growing immigrant community.
Today, that same community is confronting another difficult question.
Early Sunday morning, Lewiston Police arrested Mohamed’s 20-year-old son, Zakaria Aden, after officers allegedly found him carrying a loaded 9mm handgun despite being prohibited from possessing firearms while on probation stemming from a previous shooting-related conviction.
According to police, officers stopped a vehicle on Sabattus Street shortly before 2 a.m. During the investigation, they determined Aden was prohibited from possessing firearms as a condition of probation. Officers allegedly recovered a loaded handgun concealed in his waistband before locating two additional loaded 9mm pistols inside the vehicle.
Aden was arrested on a probation hold and charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, a Class C felony, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon, a Class D offense.
The driver, Mohamed Abdi, 20, was charged with Having a Loaded Firearm in a Motor Vehicle.
As with every criminal case, both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
From Community Leader to Public Questions
Jama Mohamed is no ordinary Lewiston resident.
City records show he became Lewiston’s first Somali elected official when voters sent him to the School Committee. He later served on the Lewiston City Council after being appointed to fill a Ward 5 vacancy. He also served on the board of the Bartlett Street mosque, helped found the Somali Bantu Youth Association, and co-founded Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS), where he served as Director of Family Services.
Those roles made Mohamed one of the most recognizable and influential leaders within Lewiston’s immigrant community.
Influence, however, brings responsibility.
As shootings have multiplied across Lewiston over the past two years, particularly throughout Bartlett Street, Knox Street, Pierce Street and Walnut Street neighborhoods, residents have repeatedly looked to political, religious and community leaders for answers.
Many have heard little.
A Reporter Seeking Answers
For months, this reporter has repeatedly reached out to Jama Mohamed seeking comment about Lewiston’s escalating gun violence, youth crime and the growing number of shootings involving young people in the immigrant community.
Those requests have gone unanswered.
Earlier this year, this reporter personally invited Mohamed to participate in the Maine Wire Gun Violence Forum in Lewiston, where police officials, educators, community leaders and residents gathered to discuss the city’s worsening violence and possible solutions.
Mohamed did not attend.
No one expects him to solve Lewiston’s crime problem.
But as one of the city’s most influential community leaders, his presence could have demonstrated that violence is unacceptable regardless of neighborhood, ethnicity or background.
Instead, his chair remained empty.
Now, with his own son facing serious firearm charges, the crisis that has gripped Lewiston has become deeply personal.
No parent is responsible for the alleged criminal conduct of an adult child. Responsibility rests with the individual accused of committing the offense.
But community leaders are responsible for leading.
MEIRS’ Record Under Scrutiny
Mohamed’s public influence extends beyond elected office.
As a co-founder and former Director of Family Services at Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS), Mohamed helped build one of Lewiston’s most prominent immigrant-service organizations, which has received taxpayer funding through workforce development, refugee assistance and MaineCare-supported programs.
The organization has also faced significant public scrutiny.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services audits previously questioned approximately $2.4 million in MaineCare reimbursements, citing documentation and billing deficiencies. Those audits questioned billing practices but did not result in criminal charges against Mohamed, and the audit findings themselves are not proof of fraud.
Still, the findings fueled public concern over oversight of taxpayer-funded nonprofit organizations operating in Lewiston.
Another MEIRS Connection
MEIRS has also found itself connected to another high-profile controversy.
One of the organization’s founders and leaders is Rilwan Osman, the brother of former Lewiston City Councilor Iman Osman.
Iman Osman resigned from the Lewiston City Council after being indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury on charges including receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking involving firearms. Osman has pleaded not guilty, and the charges remain pending.
There is no evidence Jama Mohamed has been implicated in that criminal case or accused of wrongdoing arising from it.
Nevertheless, the overlapping connections among prominent community leaders, nonprofit organizations and a series of high-profile criminal investigations have intensified calls from some residents for greater accountability and transparency.
How Much Longer Will Leaders Stay Silent?
The questions now extend well beyond Jama Mohamed.
Mayor Carl Sheline has repeatedly defended Lewiston as the city continues to grapple with recurring shootings, juvenile gun arrests and violent crime.
Meanwhile, Lewiston police continue recovering illegal firearms at an alarming pace.
Week after week, officers announce another shooting.
Another teenager.
Another illegal gun.
Another arrest.
The police continue doing their job.
Residents are increasingly asking whether the city’s political leaders, nonprofit executives, religious leaders and self-described community advocates are doing theirs.
For years, Jama Mohamed has been one of the loudest voices advocating for Lewiston’s immigrant community.
Now that gun violence has reached his own family, many residents are asking whether that voice will finally be heard on the issue that has become one of Lewiston’s defining public safety challenges.
The question facing Lewiston is no longer whether the city has a gun violence problem.
The question is whether those with the greatest influence are finally prepared to confront it publicly, or whether silence will continue to fill the void.
