Somalia: Court upholds death sentence for driver over policeman's death

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A military court in Mogadishu has upheld the death sentence slapped on a tuk-tuk driver who had been convicted of murdering a police officer in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in the latest case successfully concluded by courts in the country.

The military court discredited the appeal lodged by Abdullahi Abdi Mustafa, who had been convicted for the death of constable Abdikarin Ibrahim Ali alias Awdaango, a popular police officer in Mogadishu. The death happened in December 2022 according to court records.

The convict carried out the murder around the Afisyoni area, a highly protected place just near where the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] offices and diplomatic missions stay. Prosecutors proved their case beyond reasonable doubt, the court ruled.

In the first instance, the military court slapped the convict with a death sentence in February before he rushed to the appeal, seeking reprieve. The court had also sentenced another police officer, identified as Dahir Abdi Mustaf to four years in jail for abetting the crime.

Documents provided in court show that Abdullahi Abdi Mustafa was stopped by constable Awdaango who asked for some documents, but the former took a gun from his brother Dahir Abdi Mustafa and shot him dead at close range. Dahir was attached to Banadir Police.

The court sentenced Abdullahi Mustaf for murder and his brother for abetting murder, in one of the landmark cases in the Federal Republic of Somalia. Somalia is trying to streamline court systems, which have been on deathbeds for several months, and it is the military courts that have proved to work.

In respect to this, the government has immensely invested in military courts which are believed to dispense justice not only expeditiously but also meticulously. The government of Somalia has also started reviving civilian courts across the country for access to justice.

GAROWE ONLINE