ABSTRACTcorruption, a pervasive issue in most countries, is a significant obstacle that demandsimmediate and urgent resolution. its detrimental effects on various societal aspects,including democracy, trust, investments, stability, and education, underscore the gravityof the problem. Moreover, corruption and dishonesty in government make citizensskeptical about politics and less willing to participate in democratic governance.through a broad representative survey, this study empirically investigates how perceivedor experienced corruption influences citizen participation in political actions. the datawere analyzed using a quantitative structural equation modeling approach withsmartPls 4 after 388 somalis in Mogadishu completed a structured questionnaire. ouranalysis of the study findings revealed that somali citizens’ perceptions of corruptionamong public officials are strongly and negatively related to their political participation;in contrast, citizens’ report of having experienced corruption has a positive andstatistically significant correlation with their involvement in political processes.