Relief for ‘minority family’ as court condemns to death uncle’s killers

Three people found guilty of burning to death the uncle of a man from a minority clan for marrying a lady from a supposedly superior clan have been sentenced to death by a court in Mogadishu.

Banaadir regional court found Hussein Idow, Asli Ahmed and Aweys Iidow guilty for the gruesome murder of Ahmed Mukhtar a mechanic in Hodan district and condemned them to face the firing squad.

Mukhtar, a father of 12 was ambushed last September in his garage in Hodan district in Mogadishu by men said to have been from the bride’s family. The three men killed him and set fire on his body.

The family of Mukhtar said the bride’s family had protested their daughter’s marriage to Mukhtar’s nephew on grounds he came from a minority clan. Sources said the bride’s family had demanded the cancellation of the marriage before attacking Mukhtar.

The court acquitted four other suspects in the case after it established they were no evidence to prosecute them.