Galkayo (Somalia Today) — A court in central Somalia has sentenced a woman to death for the brutal killing of Somali schoolgirl Sabiriin Saylaan, in a case that has shaken families across the country.
The district court in Galkayo delivered its verdict on Monday after hearings followed closely by relatives, activists, and local media.
Judges ordered 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye to face execution by firing squad after finding her guilty of murdering the 14-year-old girl inside the family home. The panel said Hodan carried out a fatal assault on Sabiriin, whose killing sparked protests and an outpouring of grief in several Somali towns.
In the same ruling, the court cleared 65-year-old Abdi Aziz Nur Hashi Alas, Diiriye’s husband, of direct involvement in the murder. He told the court that he had divorced her about a week before the killing.
Judges nevertheless found that he failed in his duty of care as head of the household. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 500 dollars for “negligence of responsibility,” after being found to have allowed abuse to occur under his authority.
Public grief and anger
During the hearings, prosecutors played video evidence showing the abuse and the moments before the teenager’s death, according to court proceedings and local media reports.
Many Somalis who saw or heard about the footage on social media described it as unbearable and demanded tougher action against gender-based violence.
Crowds gathered outside the courthouse in Galkayo on Monday as security forces partially closed roads and tightened checks around the area. Residents said they wanted to see how the case would end, after weeks in which Sabiriin’s name had become a rallying cry for women’s rights activists.
Her family kept her body in the local hospital morgue while they waited for justice and welcomed the verdict as a painful but important step.
The case has revived memories of earlier high-profile attacks on Somali girls and young women.
In 2019, the gang rape and murder of 12-year-old Aisha Ilyas Adan in Galkayo triggered nationwide protests under the slogan “Justice for Aisha,” leading to death sentences for several men and the later execution by firing squad of two of them.
In 2020, the rape and murder of 19-year-old student Hamdi Mohamed Farah, who was pushed from a six-floor building in Mogadishu’s Waberi district, also brought crowds onto the streets and renewed pressure on authorities to act.
Rising violence, slow reform
Despite public anger, legal reform has moved slowly. Parliament has still not passed a federal Sexual Offences Bill, first submitted in 2018.
A later draft law on sexual-intercourse-related crimes drew strong criticism from the United Nations and Somali women’s rights organisations, which warned that it would weaken protections for survivors and could even open the door to child marriage.
Civil society coalitions continue to press lawmakers to revive the stronger bill and to ensure that rape and other sexual crimes are handled in formal courts rather than by clan elders.
New data underline the scale of the crisis. Findings from the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System ((GBVIMS), cited in the Somalia 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, show that the share of reported rape and domestic violence cases rose from an estimated 37 percent in 2022 to 52 percent in 2023, while reported rape alone increased from 11 percent to 15 percent over the same period.
Since early 2024, humanitarian agencies have reported a further rise in domestic violence cases across the country.
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network warned in a May 2024 statement that domestic violence in Somalia is “escalating,” citing the 2020 Somalia Health and Demographic Survey.
According to that survey, 35 percent of ever-married women aged 15 to 49 reported physical injuries caused by their husbands, and female genital mutilation among women in the same age group stands at about 99 percent.
Similar recent femicide cases
The first week of February 2024 showed how deadly that violence can be. In Mogadishu, 28-year-old Lul Abdi Aziz Jazira died after her husband allegedly doused her with petrol and set her on fire. Neighbours broke down a locked door to reach her, and she survived in hospital for seven days before dying from her burns.
In the southern district of Qoryoley, police arrested Saleban Haji Abdi on suspicion of stabbing to death his 22-year-old wife, Fus Mahfud Mohamed, who was pregnant with her fourth child. Investigators allege that he planned the time and place of the killing and later dismembered her body.
In a third case in the Lower Shabelle region, police say a man shot and killed his wife. On the same weekend, officers in Afgoye detained another husband who was allegedly preparing to burn his wife and children alive with gasoline and matches.
These cases prompted days of protests in Mogadishu and other towns over femicide and impunity for domestic violence.
Rights groups argue that the brutal killing of Somali girls like Sabiriin, Aisha, and Hamdi, together with the recent femicide cases highlighted by protesters, shows the wider risks for women and girls who often rely on customary courts and clan elders to resolve abuse cases rather than state courts.
Courts have not yet set a date for carrying out the death sentence against Diiriye, and both defendants retain the right to appeal under Somali law.
For now, campaigners say real change will depend not only on high-profile verdicts, but also on stronger national laws, better police investigations, and early protection for women and girls who may face abuse inside their own homes.
