Postmortem set as family seeks justice for burned girl in Wajir

Authorities will on Tuesday exhume the body of a 17-year-old girl from Wajir County who is believed to have been murdered and burned after resisting a forced marriage to a man more than three times her age.

The girl, Gaala Aden Abdi, was buried hurriedly after her death on March 27, 2025.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) obtained a court order to allow a postmortem to be conducted as part of an ongoing murder inquiry.

A private pathologist has already arrived in Wajir, while a government pathologist is expected to join the process at Daadab Refugee Camp today.

Gaala, who was a refugee, was reportedly attacked and killed before her body was set on fire.

Relatives and rights groups have raised concern that her burial was rushed to destroy evidence.

Civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) have been demanding justice and pushing for the exhumation.

Issa Mohamed, a relative of the girl, dismissed claims made by the man’s family that Gaala took her own life.

"They crafted a story to make it appear as though she committed suicide. The man’s mother claimed she was taking her son to the hospital when they heard commotion in the house, only to find Gaala burning in bed," he said.

NGEC chairperson Rehema Jaldesa also rejected the suicide claim, describing it as a deliberate move to interfere with investigations.

"I went to Wajir, and the first thing I noticed is that the community, including the local chief, had quickly shifted the narrative from murder to suicide, which is extremely unfortunate," she said.

She explained that the body was buried in haste to hide the heinous act.

According to her, three men, including the man Gaala was being forced to marry, were involved in the attack.

"Many community members witnessed the girl being beaten by three men, the husband and his two brothers. They hit and killed her, according to witnesses," Jaldesa said.

The attackers later set her body ablaze and inflicted minor injuries on the man to create a false story that Gaala had attacked him and then killed herself, she added.

Jaldesa also said the victim had made several calls for help, including audio recordings sent to family members, but no one came to her aid.

"Her relatives received calls, including recordings of the girl being tortured. She even told her mother, ‘They are killing me, they are torturing me, this is what they are doing,"' she said.

The incident has triggered national outrage and renewed debate over harmful cultural practices and gender-based violence.

It also exposed gaps in the protection of vulnerable girls, especially those living in refugee communities.

'This girl had no idea that elders and the man’s relatives were arranging her marriage. She was treated like a commodity, and no one even told her the man was 55 years old," Jaldesa said.

Three suspects have already been arrested.

The family now wants all those involved to be charged and punished.