Journalist recounts how police mocked him after was shot twice by another policeman

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Goobjoog Television journalist Sharmarke Weheliye has recounted his frustrations in trying to seek justice for his shooting by a police officer last year.

Speaking at a forum during the release of a report on the state of the media in Somalia by Somali Journalists Sydicate (SJS), Weheliye said the police turned a deaf ear on him and even mocked him instead of helping him.

“I became like a deer who went to seek justice from a hyena,” the journalist who is still recovering from two surgeries said. “When I went to CID and presented my case, the officer in charge asked me if the bullet caused any pain.”

Weheliye said even when his family went to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as he lay in a hospital bed after the first surgery, “a senior officer there told them (relatives) to bring him here.”

The TV Journalist said he was not able to present himself to the police as demanded as he was still bed ridden.

Attempts for justice went futile when his family was told by the CID that the case was already presented in court. “But we made enquiries and learnt that there was no such thing,” Weheliye said.

Weheliye was shot by a policeman on March 20, 2021 while he was on his way home. He sustained serious injuries on his hands and stomach but has significantly recovered after he underwent two surgeries.

Police, Weheliye said tried to cover up the story by claiming that shots were fired randomly that fateful night. “He pointed the gun at me and fired, it was not random,” Weheliye recounted.