Somalia’s Puntland State Executes Woman Convicted of Torturing and Killing 14-Year-Old Domestic Worker

Puntland State executes woman for torture-murder of 14-year-old domestic worker in Galkayo

GALKAYO, Somalia — Authorities in Somalia’s Puntland State state on Tuesday executed Hodan Mohamud by firing squad after a court convicted her of the prolonged torture and murder of 14-year-old domestic worker Sabirin Saylaan Abdille. The court enforced Qisas — retributive justice under Islamic law — at the request of the victim’s family, who rejected offers of Diyo, or blood compensation.

Prosecutors said Abdille, a minor from a poor household, was sent to work as a domestic helper in Mohamud’s home, where she endured sustained physical abuse that culminated in her death. Security officials said investigators recovered graphic digital evidence from Mohamud’s mobile phone, including video clips that showed “extreme and repeated violence” against the teenager, material that judges ruled was directly linked to her killing.

“This case was prosecuted with clear evidence and in accordance with Islamic law,” a regional judicial official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The family demanded justice, and the court honored that right.”

Puntland State authorities said the sentence was carried out under a standing decree in the Mudug region mandating strict enforcement of Islamic law in murder cases as part of efforts to curb violent crime in Galkayo. The city, a commercial hub divided administratively between Puntland State and neighboring Galmudug state, has grappled with years of insecurity, clan tensions and cross-border criminality.

Provincial officials said it is the first time in decades that a woman has been executed in Puntland State under a retaliatory murder sentence. The last publicly known execution of a woman in the region dates to 2013, when a female member of the al-Shabab militant group was among 13 people put to death for the assassination of a prominent religious scholar.

News of Abdille’s killing and Mohamud’s conviction has fueled a wider national reckoning over the treatment of domestic workers, many of them children, in Somali households. Activists, elders and child rights groups staged demonstrations across Puntland State after the case became public, arguing that Abdille’s death exposed an entrenched, often hidden pattern of exploitation and violence against minors who enter domestic service to support their families.

“Execution does not erase the system that allowed this child to suffer in silence,” said a child welfare advocate in Garowe. “We need laws, enforcement, and social change to protect children long before such crimes occur.”

Advocates are pressing for stronger legal safeguards, routine inspections by social services, and clear criminal penalties for employers who abuse domestic workers. They also want public education campaigns to shift social norms that normalize child labor in homes and to broaden access to schooling and income support for vulnerable families.

Officials framed Tuesday’s execution as both justice for Abdille’s relatives and a message to would-be offenders. “This is a warning,” one official said. “Anyone who abuses or exploits the weak will face the full force of the law.”

The case has drawn attention to the gap between Islamic and customary practices in Somalia’s justice landscape and the strain on institutions that must balance deterrence with broader child-protection reforms. As Puntland State enforces its decree on murder cases, the question for policymakers and communities alike is whether legal deterrence will be matched by systemic prevention — from regulating domestic work to strengthening social safety nets — to ensure the next Sabirin does not enter a household where help is mistaken for harm.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.