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A female is now awaiting the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of killing a teenager in her custody.

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

The tragedy resonated deeply in a nation where child abuse frequently remains hidden, especially when it occurs inside kinship networks.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death symbolised a wider shortcoming in child protection and the sluggish implementation of legal safeguards meant to prevent such tragedies.

A Rare Verdict

The conviction of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the infrequent cases in Somalia where a court handed down the death sentence for child abuse.

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has lodged an challenge against the verdict.

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

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents passed away within a brief time when she was just one year old.

Both of her grandmothers had also died so she was looked after by her late mother's aunt, who made sure she got an schooling and attended a classical 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 investigation, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had suffered "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and tortured.

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

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

A autopsy of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds indicative of prolonged violence.

Public Outcry

As details of the police investigation surfaced, community outrage grew.

Many of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" and calling on the authorities to bring to trial all those responsible.

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

Things got so heated that during one protest demonstrators confronted police and a young man was killed by gunfire.

Online, young women and girls launched a wave of solidarity campaigns, using social media tags invoking Saabirin's name.

"No child should die like this," a tearful 18-year-old protester said in a clip shared on social media. "We also oppose the attempts by traditional elders who want to settle this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."

This refers to when elders from the families of those involved in a dispute step in with the aim of avoiding revenge, rather than determine criminal guilt.

A Widespread Problem

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

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

A regional police commander said the verdict represented an important moment in the pursuit of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The offender is now only awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence. If further evidence surfaces 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 "the case highlights the deep 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 severe cases ever reach the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

In the summer this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, acted on a report that a three-year-old boy had been severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The accused perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a report, 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 approved 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 minors.

Its provisions include:

• Criminalising all forms of child abuse
• Strengthening legal punishment for guardians who harm or neglect children
• Guaranteeing state responsibility for vulnerable and orphaned children
• And establishing monitoring systems in schools, hospitals and communities.

But just three days later, a government department issued a statement stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions conflicting with religious teaching not being enforced.

It said that Somali parental authority was fundamental and no external entity could supersede it.

Weak Enforcement

A women's and child's rights activist contended that enforcement of similar measures in Somalia remained weak.

The police lack the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get mediated by clan elders, which undermines 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 settled," 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 highlighted 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 intervene. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase understanding that people can speak out 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 forcing overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community considers the verdict, some are uncertain if true accountability will be served in the long run.

"There is nothing to rejoice yet, we still need clarity," 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."