Military appeals court upholds death penalty for tuk-tuk driver who shot dead policeman in Mogadishu

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The appeals division of the military court in Mogadishu has today upheld a lower court decision that handed the death penalty to a tuk tuk driver who shot dead a policeman early this year.

The Military Appeal Court in Mogadishu declared Abdullahi Abdi Mustaf guilty of killing police constable Abdikarin Ibrahim Ali (Awdaango) at a police check in Afisyoni area of Mogadishu on December 19, 2022.

Mustaf was sentenced to death by the Military Court of First Instance in February of this year for the murder of the police officer. The court had also sentenced another police officer, identified as Dahir Abdi Mustaf to four years in jail for abetting the crime.

According to the prosecution, Abdullahi Abdi Mustaf was stopped by constable Awdaango at the checkpoint, who demanded he produce some identification document. Incensed by the demand, Mustaf asked for a gun from his brother, Dahir Abdi Mustaf, a police officer attached to the Banaadir Police Department and went ahead to shoot dead constable Awdaango.

The court sentenced Abdullahi Mustaf for murder and his brother for abetting murder.