🔗 Share this article

A woman is currently facing the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being found guilty of murdering a teenager in her custody.

The murder of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the horrific details that came to light about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered protests near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed demands for stronger child protection.

The tragedy resonated deeply in a nation where child abuse often goes unreported, especially when it occurs inside clan households.

For many, Saabirin's death symbolised a wider shortcoming in child protection and the slow enforcement of legal protections designed to prevent such atrocities.

An Uncommon Judgment

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

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has filed an challenge against the ruling.

Her husband, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but given one year in prison and fined $500 for failure of care.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents died within a short period when she was just one year old.

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

But her life took a devastating turn in September after Saabirin's elder relative agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a domestic helper, could assume her care.

Proof of Maltreatment

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

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

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

A post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds consistent with prolonged violence.

Community Anger

As details of the police investigation emerged, public anger escalated.

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

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

Things got so tense that during one protest demonstrators clashed with police and a young man was killed by gunfire.

Online, young women and girls initiated a wave of support movements, using social media tags citing 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 preventing revenge, rather than establish criminal guilt.

A Systemic Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

Laws and Obstacles

In the summer 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 alleged perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a assessment, three horrific 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:

• Outlawing all forms of child abuse
• Toughening legal punishment for guardians who harm or neglect children
• Guaranteeing state responsibility for vulnerable and orphaned children
• And creating 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 applied.

It said that Somali family rights was paramount and no external entity could override it.

Weak Enforcement

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

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

She notes 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 official for the region's ministry of women's development denies that the authorities are failing 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 challenging to act. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase awareness that people can raise concerns if they suspect that a child might not be safe.

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

A Force for Conversation

Although Saabirin's life was ended too soon, her death is now compelling long-delayed 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 delays."