Robbery with violence earns police officer 8 years behind bars

A police constable has been sentenced to eight years behind bars by a military court in Mogadishu for robbery with violence.

The court found constable Mohamed Abdikarim Abdullahi guilty of forcefully robbing his victims mobile phones in Hodan district in Mogadishu. The prosecution presented one witness before the court who said the defendant followed him to a Mosque in Hodan district in September and forcefully took his phone. The witnesses’ identity was not disclosed.

The prosecution presented a number of mobile phones which it said the accused had robbed from residents in the city. Deputy prosecutor Ismael Salad Mohamed asked the court to hand the defendant a stiff penalty so that ‘it becomes a lesson to others who are bent on such crimes’. But defense lawyers pleaded for a lesser sentence noting the defendant had cooperated and admitted guilt.

Abdullahi was arrested September 17 in Hodan district.

The judge ordered the defendant serve his term at a military prison but had the option of an appeal.