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A woman is now facing execution in the Horn of Africa nation after being found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her custody.

The tragic death of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the shocking details that emerged about the circumstances surrounding her death, sparked protests near her home in Galkayo, along with fresh demands for enhanced child protection.

The case resonated deeply in a country where child abuse often goes unreported, especially when it takes place inside kinship networks.

For many, Saabirin's death epitomised a broader failure in child protection and the sluggish implementation of legal safeguards designed to prevent such tragedies.

A Rare Verdict

The guilty verdict of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder marked one of the infrequent instances 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 husband, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but given one year in prison and fined $500 for negligence.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents died within a short period when she was just one year old.

Both of her elder female relatives 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 great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who needed a domestic helper, could take her in.

Proof of Maltreatment

During their investigation, police revealed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and subjected to cruelty.

Evidence obtained from Diiriye's phone, including recordings and audio recordings captured ongoing violence. Some of these were leaked to the public before the trial.

In one especially harrowing 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 consistent with sustained violence.

Community Anger

As details of the police investigation emerged, public anger escalated.

Many of women and young people marched in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "We Demand Justice" and urging the authorities to bring to trial all those responsible.

They assembled outside the local hospital where her body was lying 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 initiated a wave of solidarity campaigns, using hashtags citing Saabirin's name.

"No child should die like this," a emotional 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 intervene with the aim of avoiding revenge, rather than establish criminal guilt.

A Systemic Challenge

Child abuse in Somalia is often hidden within households, and extended families 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 significant moment in the quest of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The perpetrator is now only awaiting the implementation of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges proving that other 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 "this tragedy underscores the profound gaps that still exist in protecting 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 reach 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 severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The accused perpetrator was quickly 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 inundated with cases of violence in the home, many of which never reach the courts.

On 1 October this year, Somalia's parliament ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

The decades-old charter outlines legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against minors.

Its stipulations include:

• Outlawing all forms of child abuse
• Toughening 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 in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being enforced.

It said that Somali family rights was fundamental and no external entity could override it.

Lax Implementation

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

The police do not have the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get interfered with 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 speak out and many schools were not teaching them that they could report 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 failing 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 understanding that people can raise concerns if they suspect that a child might not be safe.

"Every child has the right to be removed 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 unsure if true accountability will be achieved in the long run.

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