A Somali soldier was sentenced to death on Sunday for killing a civilian after refusing to pay him extortion, an army officer said.

Abukar Mohamed Nurani, a well-known street vendor lost his life for 5,000 Somali Shillings which is equivalent to $0.25 last week after engaging in an argument with the SNA soldier.

The cold blood murder was condemned by the public who put pressure on the government to bring the killer to justice.

The police acted swiftly and nabbed the culprit while on the run, according to the reports.

On Sunday, the court of the armed forces announced the death sentence against the soldier and said the ruling will be executed if the defendant fails to appeal in 30 days.

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Thursday at an anti-al-Shabaab rally in Mogadishu that the government will prosecute every soldier who commits civilian killings.

A former soldier was executed in October last year for killing a Somali cabinet minister.

Ahmed Abdullahi Abdi was executed by firing squad in Mogadishu for killing Somali Cabinet Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction Abbas Siraji in Somalia's capital on May 2017.