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A female is presently facing the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl in her care.

The tragic death of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the horrific details that emerged about the circumstances surrounding her death, sparked protests near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed demands for greater child protection.

The case touched a deep nerve in a country where child abuse frequently remains hidden, especially when it takes place inside extended families.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death symbolised a wider failure in child protection and the slow implementation of legal protections designed to prevent such tragedies.

A Rare Verdict

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

Diiriye had denied the charges and her lawyer has filed an appeal against the ruling.

Her spouse, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but sentenced one year in prison and ordered to pay $500 for failure of care.

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 cared for by her late mother's aunt, who ensured she got an schooling and attended a classical Quranic school.

But her life took a devastating turn in September after Saabirin's great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who needed a home help, could take her in.

Proof of Maltreatment

During their inquiry, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had suffered "routine physical abuse" - she was beaten and tortured.

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

In one especially harrowing recording, Diiriye can be heard saying: "I'm enjoying your pain."

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

Community Anger

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

Many of women and young people marched in Galkayo, holding signs reading "We Demand Justice" and calling on the authorities to prosecute all those responsible.

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

Things got so tense that during one protest demonstrators clashed with police and a young man was shot dead.

Online, young women and girls initiated a wave of support movements, using social media tags citing 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 clan customs or behind closed doors."

This describes when elders from the clans of those involved in a dispute step in with the aim of preventing revenge, rather than determine criminal guilt.

A Systemic Challenge

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

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

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

"The offender is now only awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges proving that additional individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be spared, 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 profound 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 extreme cases ever are reported to the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

In June this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, received a report that a three-year-old boy had been brutally mistreated inside the home of his father's wife. The accused perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a report, three appalling 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 inundated 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 long-standing charter details legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against children.

Its provisions include:

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

But just three days later, a ministry issued a clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being applied.

It said that Somali parental authority was paramount and no external entity could override it.

Lax Implementation

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

The police do not have the resources to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get mediated by clan elders, which weakens the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.

She adds that children were often did not know that they could report abuse 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 resolved," the activist said.

A official for the region's ministry of women's development rejects that the authorities are neglecting in their responsibility to protect children.

She pointed out 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 act. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase awareness 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 long-delayed conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on 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 postponements."