Danish-Somali citizen arrested after beheading mother in Kismayo

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Danish-Somali citizen arrested after beheading mother in Kismayo

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – A Danish-Somali man was apprehended by police in the Somali port town of Kismayo, for the alleged beheading of his mother, according to the police.

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The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Hassan Abdullahi Abdi Shire, was seen being interrogated at a local police station shortly after his arrest.

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – A Danish-Somali man was apprehended by police in the Somali port town of Kismayo, for the alleged beheading of his mother, according to the police.

Local media and police in Kismayo reported on the incident, which occurred on Sunday.

The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Hassan Abdullahi Abdi Shire, was seen being interrogated at a local police station shortly after his arrest. According to the Kismayo deputy police commander Hussein Ali Hashi, Shire stands accused of gruesomely beheading his mother, Halimo Mohamed Omar who is also a Danish citizen, inside her residence in Kismayo’s Farjano neighborhood.

Authorities suspect that Shire may be suffering from a mental illness, shedding light on the broader issue of mental health care in Somalia.

The incident also brings attention to the activities of Islamic rehab centers in the country, which claim to provide assistance to individuals struggling with drug addiction or mental health problems.

According to the police, Shire was brought to Somalia from Denmark a year ago. Allegedly, his mother forcibly admitted him to a rehab center, where he endured confinement and continuous physical abuse. His passport was reportedly confiscated during his time there.

"The mother then returned to Denmark. When she came back now, he was waiting for her. He got a kitchen knife and beheaded her,” explained the deputy police commissioner Hashi, detailing the events leading up to the gruesome act.

At the time of his arrest on Sunday, Hassan was still wielding the blood-stained knife. The police officers had to intervene forcefully, as he was in the process of beheading his lifeless mother. He sustained injuries from the incident.

Following his detention, authorities have stated that Shire will be prosecuted and may face severe punishment, potentially including the death penalty.

"A man who killed his mother has no value for his family and our country. He must face the harshest sentence,” emphasized the police officer Hashi.

Locally known as "Dhaqan celis", in the Somali diaspora, parents often resort to these centers when they feel their children have become too westernized. The concept of "Dhaqan celis” translates to "return to culture” and initially involved sending individuals to live with relatives in Somalia. However, in recent years, these centers have gained notoriety for reports of violence, abuse, and even rape inflicted upon children and young men and women brought from the West.

In January 2020, a group of courageous girls managed to escape from Daaru Sunna, a local rehabilitation center in Mogadishu’s Hodan district. The escape which was widely reported involved at least nine Somali girls from the UK, Denmark, Sweden, and Canada. Somali officials then disclosed that the girls successfully overpowered the guard assigned to the center, allowing them to break free. Among the brave escapees was Amaal, a 16-year-old girl from Denmark.

While there is no exact count of these rehab centers, local human rights defenders estimate their numbers to be in the hundreds, scattered across cities such as Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Garowe, Kismayo, Galkayo and Bosaso.

The confinement and mistreatment of vulnerable individuals within these centers raise concerns about the well-being and safety of those held in these centers.