A 17-year-old girl from a refugee family in the Dadaab refugee camp was brutally murdered in Wajir County after allegedly refusing to marry a 55-year-old man.
The harrowing details of her final moments were revealed in a news report aired on NTV on Wednesday night.
According to the report, the girl, identified as Gaala, had sent a desperate voice note to her mother pleading for help. In the recording, she described the abuse she endured daily after being forced into marriage.
“Every sunset, when I get to that house, I get beaten. I was betrayed to marry this herder. No one wants to listen to me,” she lamented in the voice message, as translated by NTV.
Despite her calls for help, Gaala’s fate was sealed within days. Her lifeless body was set on fire in what is now being described as a gruesome case of femicide.
A Desperate Cry for Help
Gaala’s mother recalled receiving a distressing call from her daughter on the night of Saturday, March 22, 2025. She described how her daughter had sounded terrified as she spoke of the imminent danger she faced.
“They have started knifing me, and my phone is being taken away,” Gaala told her mother in what would be their last conversation.
Just four hours later, the family received a devastating call confirming her murder.
“At around 2 am, I received a call saying my daughter was butchered. Then they placed her on a mattress with a bag and burnt her. A Somali knife was collected from the scene,” her mother recounted.
According to the grieving mother, three men were allegedly involved in the murder, including Gaala’s husband, Mohammed Qasim Tifo, his brother Musa Tifo Kassim, and another man identified as Abdullahi Kassim Tifo.
She also disclosed that on the same evening, Abdullahi had warned her not to expect her daughter back.
“Earlier in the evening, Abdullahi called me and said, ‘This girl will never come back to the refugee camp, and there is no need for you to see her again,” she recalled.
Gruesome Death and Calls for Justice
A postmortem examination confirmed the brutality inflicted on Gaala. Medical reports revealed that she had suffered 100-degree burns, a spinal column injury, and multiple wounds caused by open flames.
Her body was discovered outside a rental house, a grim testament to the suffering she endured before her death.
Authorities have since arrested the main suspect, though investigations remain ongoing.
The incident has sparked nationwide outrage, with human rights groups, legal bodies, and activists calling for justice.
The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) condemned the killing, terming it a horrifying case of gender-based violence.
“Forced marriages are illegal. We call on law enforcement to act swiftly and ensure justice for this young girl,” the commission stated.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also joined the calls for justice, with its President, Faith Odhiambo, condemning the murder in strong terms.
“Another day, another femicide case, another innocent life lost. Have we lost our humanity?” Odhiambo asked.
She urged security agencies to move swiftly and ensure those responsible for Gaala’s death are brought to justice.
As the case unfolds, activists and the public continue to demand an end to femicide and forced marriages, stressing the urgent need for stronger legal enforcement to protect vulnerable girls.
