The number of executions recorded in Somalia increased more than sixfold between
2022 and 2023 says Amnesty International with numbers rising from six to 38.
Amnesty says Somalia was the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to have carried
out executions last year. In all cases people were put to death by firing squad.
Although all executions were carried out in just one country, the total number
recorded last year was the highest for the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa since 2015.
Somalia's deputy attorney general, Muse Ahmed Isse, said Amnesty's figures were
exaggerated. He gave a figure of 20 to 21 executions in 2023, with most of those put
to death being members of the militant group Al Shabaab.
They are sentenced to death under the terms of the 2023 Anti-Terrorism Law which
states that "any person who commits an act of terrorism resulting in death shall be
punished by execution by firing squad".
"People were sentenced to death under the former government but executions rarely
happened," says lawyer Khadra Ahmed. "Since the new government declared all-out
war against the militant Islamist group Al Shabaab, about six people are being
executed every week." Bilan has been unable to confirm this figure which would put
the total number of executions at more than 300 annually.
Ms Ahmed explained that members of the armed forces have been executed in
addition to members of Al Shabbab. Soldiers have been sentenced to death for
killing unarmed civilians, such as rickshaw drivers who buzz around the capital
Mogadishu and sometimes don't stop when ordered to. The death sentences are
handed down by military courts.
Most executions take place on a beach in Mogadishu close to an informal settlement
occupied by about 50 families. When the execution ground is not in use, children
from the settlement use the concrete execution posts as goalposts. Parents
complain that the area is not cleaned up after people are shot to death. They are
also afraid their children will be shot accidentally during executions.
The lawyer and former chairman of the court in Somalia's central Galgudud region,
Mohamed Abdi, says there are no local organisations campaigning against the death
penalty,
"People are afraid to advocate against the death penalty as they fear they will be
seen as challenging religious principles," he says.
"If such organisations existed they could help people who are wrongly sentenced to
death," says the lawyer Khadra Ahmed. "As the courts lack the resources and will to
carry out thorough investigations and witnesses are afraid to come forward, many
are wrongly convicted."
Hinda Abdi Mohamoud in Mogadis
University student Abdinor Omar* vehemently opposes executions. "People are
sentenced to death on flimsy evidence," he said. "Some who are not members of Al
Shabaab are tortured and coerced into confessing that they belong to the group. In
some cases individuals are sentenced and executed within 48 hours."
The deputy attorney general, Mr Isse, insisted people on death row have received
fair trials. He said thorough investigations are carried out and that the confessions of
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those sentenced to death are usually made available to the public.
"The justice system is unfair," said student Mr Omar. "Investigators are
unprofessional. Sometimes criminals and judges are in cahoots. If the accused are
related to the judge or belong to a powerful clan, they are let off."
As Somalia has been in turmoil for more than three decades, its courts, like all other
infrastructure, do not function properly. Corruption is a huge problem, with many
people choosing to use Al Shabaab courts even in areas they do not control as they
are seen as more efficient and less corrupt.
*This is not his real name.
Hinda Abdi Mohamoud is Editor of the all-female media team Bilan in Somalia. It is
funded by the European Union through the UN Development Programme and hosted
by Dalsan Media Group in Mogadishu
