As a pre-death statement by the state reveals now curtailed plans to evacuate the youth for specialized medical abroad and arrest of perpetrating police officer but devoid of future deterrence measures
By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – A youth shot by a police officer in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa has died a day after the fateful event.
The deceased Abdilahi Dayib Abdi Korse a student in Hargeisa died at the Hargeisa Group Hospital in the early hours of Saturday 15th Aug from multiple bullet injuries inflicted by a police officer at the city’s Kodbur police station in circumstances termed by security chiefs as an unfortunate accident.
Late Master Ahmed was shot in his police cell where he was being detained to facilitate investigations into his suspected membership of a youth gang marauding 26th June District of Hargeisa more specifically JigJiga yare estate.
Acknowledging the shooting and subsequent injuries to the youth at a joint press briefing in Hargeisa on Friday the deputy interior minister in-charge of regional administration Ahmed Farah Adare and police commissioner Brigadier Abdilahi Fadal Iman revealed the arrest of the perpetrator and plans to evacuate the injure boy for specialized medical abroad.
“We hereby inform that a police officer attached to the Maroodi-jeeh (Hargeisa) regional police command and seconded to Kodbur police station fatally shot master Abdilahi Dayib then in detention at the police station he was on security detail at” said the security chiefs who also informed that the government which shall foot all medical bills has chartered a plane to transport the boy abroad for treatment.
Though the state acted fast and in good faith the painful death negates the evacuation plans and what is left is the reversal of prosecution charges for the innocent life taking police officer from fatal shooting to murder before the promised arraignment in court.
This fatal shooting comes in the heels of a similar one in the Somaliland capital where a 9 years old boy was shot to death by the Rapid Reaction Unit of the police and three others injured during a brawl for a contested piece of land.
If the two similar instances by trained police officers are anything to go by, it is difficult to fathom whether it is the training that is at fault or the Somaliland police force is employer to personnel unfit for weapons bearing responsibilities.
Going by training which is fast class and most instances provided by experienced forces like Britain’s Scotland Yard instances of police using live bullets while dealing with civilians more so by the RRU is a result of action from post deployment orders by commanders who are usually acting on directives from politicians.
The political angle can be ascertained by the events leading to the death of nine years old Abdinajib Ahmed Mohamed at the city’s JigJiga yar estate when the crack British trained RRU upon dispatch by the Hargeisa municipality to a contested piece of arrived Guns cocked and started shooting live bullets at civilians thus the death and injuries to three others.
While the deputy interior minister in-charge of security Abdi Dahir Amud justified the RRU act by informing that the unit shot in reaction to stones thrown at them by civilians it would have been and should be logical and the norm to arm riot police with both TEAR GAS canisters and RUBBER BULLETS.
Without providing more rationalization for the regular civilian deaths and injuries that occur whenever the RRU undertakes operations to quell protests or disperse illegal demonstrations it is worth mentioning that this is a specialized police unit trained for Counter Terrorism duties by Scotland Yard thus its shoot first ask questions later mentality.
The RRU thus validated it is next to impossible to comprehend how a police officer on prisoner security detail at a police station can fire not only one but several bullets into a locked cell full of unarmed inmates as in the Kodbur incident leading to the death of Master deceased Abdilahi Dayib Abdi Korse .
However , despite the aptness of police training some prevalent behaviour like sightings of a uniformed armed solo police officer going about private businesses or even at a public Khat chewing joint is questionable, since law enforcement standing orders stipulate that an officer should only be uniformed while on duty and if armed s/he should be accompanied by a partner.
The dictates against a Solo armed officer are there to prevalent instances of criminal minded person/s confiscating the weapon thence a partner, armed too, to deter such and help protect the weapon as well.
Somaliland being so far fortunate not to observer cases where criminals seize weapons from security personnel the increase in youthful criminal gangs is reason to think otherwise.
As for the fitness of police officers to bear arms as exemplified by several past instances maybe the issue of the Kodbur police station shooting is a blessing in disguise hence the authorities should not only rest laurels with the prosecution of the rogue officer but go further and undertake a major overhaul of security forces standing orders.
The overhaul should also weed out officers mostly the many who are 60 years and above profuse within the army and police/prisons services being mainly recruits from the era of militia demobilization as well as establish a strenuous refresher training course that includes understanding of forces protocols and public relations for the remainder.
While the retirement of aged personnel from the Somaliland security forces just like of the entire civil service is untenable currently for most cling to work in order to earn thus provide for family livelihoods the state should expeditiously establish a National Social Security Fund to provide for retirement benefits currently none existent.
In the meantime may Allah rest the soul of late master Abdilahi Dayib Abdi Korse in eternal bliss
Copyright: Somalilandsun, 2015.
