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Somali officer who killed man over cigarette lighter gets death penalty

Thursday November 24 2022
Mohamed Abdulkadir Sheikh Ibrahim

Mohamed Abdulkadir Sheikh Ibrahim, a junior Somali police officer who was sentenced to death by firing squad for killing a civilian over a cigarette lighter. PHOTO | COURTESY

By ABDULKADIR KHALIF

A Somali military court has sentenced to death a police officer convicted of killing a civilian following an argument over a cigarette lighter.

Mohamed Abdulkadir Sheikh Ibrahim, a junior officer serving in South West, one of the five Federal Member States in Somalia, was booked for a firing squad for the murder he committed in April.

Ibrahim, who served in the police force in Afgoye town, 30 km southwest of Mogadishu, was found guilty by the court for the killing of Abdifatah Abdullahi Ali, a trader, on April 25, 2022.

Ibrahim reportedly stabbed Ali to death after the two argued over a cigarette lighter.

Firing squad

Ali’s relatives were present in the army court when Ibrahim was sentenced to face a firing squad as pronounced by Major Mohamed Abdi Mumin.

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The community in Afgoye district has been stunned by incidents where locals are killed in quarrels over items worth about 10,000 Somali shillings (less than half a US dollar).

In recent incidents, a man killed another over a cigarette while another was killed over a cup of tea.

However, as the rebuilding of Somalia continues, people have been saying that killings by members of the armed forces have gone down.

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