🔗 Share this article

A woman is now facing the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl in her charge.

The tragic death of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the shocking details that came to light about the circumstances surrounding her death, sparked demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with reinvigorated demands for greater child protection.

The incident struck a chord in a country where child abuse often goes unreported, particularly when it occurs inside extended families.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death symbolised a broader shortcoming in child protection and the sluggish implementation of legal safeguards designed to prevent such atrocities.

An Uncommon Judgment

The guilty verdict of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the uncommon cases in Somalia where a court handed down the ultimate penalty for child abuse.

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has lodged an appeal against the decision.

Her spouse, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but sentenced one year in prison and ordered to pay $500 for negligence.

A Life Cut Short

Saabirin was orphaned when both her parents passed away within a short period when she was just one year old.

Both of her elder female relatives had also died so she was cared for by her late mother's aunt, who made sure she got an schooling and attended a traditional Quranic school.

But her life took a tragic turn in September after Saabirin's great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a home help, could take her in.

Proof of Maltreatment

During their investigation, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and tortured.

Proof obtained from Diiriye's phone, including videos and audio recordings documented repeated violence. Some of these were leaked to the public before the trial.

In one particularly disturbing recording, Diiriye can be heard saying: "I take pleasure in your pain."

A autopsy of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds consistent with sustained violence.

Public Outcry

As details of the police investigation emerged, community outrage escalated.

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding signs reading "We Demand Justice" and urging the authorities to bring to trial all those responsible.

They assembled outside the local hospital where her body was held in the morgue.

Things got so tense that during one protest demonstrators clashed with police and a young man was shot dead.

Online, young women and girls initiated a wave of solidarity campaigns, using social media tags invoking Saabirin's name.

"No child should die like this," a emotional 18-year-old protester said in a clip shared on social media. "We also oppose the attempts by traditional elders who want to resolve this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."

This refers to when elders from the clans of those involved in a dispute step in with the aim of avoiding revenge, rather than establish criminal guilt.

A Widespread Problem

Child abuse in Somalia is often concealed within households, and extended families are customarily viewed as safe spaces – where the state should not interfere.

Diiriye's trial and other related hearings were broadcast live on social media to foster public trust in the justice system.

A regional police commander said the verdict represented an important moment in the quest of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The offender is now only awaiting the implementation of the death sentence. If further evidence surfaces proving that other individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be spared, the law will be fully applied to them as well," he said.

A director of a child rights organisation said that "the case underscores the profound gaps that still exist in protecting the most basic human rights of children in our society."

"Children continue to face violence inside family homes, and only the most severe cases ever are reported to the police," he added.

Legal Frameworks and Challenges

In June this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, received a report that a three-year-old boy had been brutally mistreated inside the home of his father's wife. The accused perpetrator was quickly arrested.

According to a report, three appalling acts of violence against children occurred in the country during October and November.

The head of a local women's association in Galkayo said the community was overwhelmed with cases of violence in the home, many of which never make it to the courts.

On 1 October this year, Somalia's parliament ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

The decades-old charter details legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against children.

Its stipulations include:

• Criminalising all forms of child abuse
• Toughening legal punishment for guardians who harm or neglect children
• Ensuring state responsibility for vulnerable and orphaned children
• And establishing monitoring systems in schools, hospitals and communities.

But just three days later, a ministry issued a statement stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being enforced.

It said that Somali parental authority was paramount and no external entity could supersede it.

Lax Implementation

A women's and child's rights activist contended that implementation of similar measures in Somalia remained weak.

The police do not have the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get interfered with clan elders, which undermines the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.

She adds that children were often unaware that they could speak out and many schools were not teaching them that they could disclose abuse.

"In many similar cases, both sides of the family reach a private agreement and then inform the government that the matter has been resolved," the activist said.

A coordinator for the region's ministry of women's development denies that the authorities are neglecting in their responsibility to protect children.

She pointed out programmes to help youths and efforts to protect street children.

She did however admit that in cases like Saabirin's, it is sometimes difficult to intervene. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase understanding that people can speak out if they suspect that a child might not be safe.

"Every child has the right to be removed from any household in which they do not feel safe," the official said.

A Force for Conversation

Although Saabirin's life was cut tragically short, her death is now forcing overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are uncertain if justice will be served in the long run.

"There is nothing to celebrate yet, we still need certainty," one of the young protesters said. "We don't want justice in words, we want to see it with our own eyes. We don't want postponements."