A female is now facing execution in Somalia after being convicted of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her care.
The murder of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the gruesome details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with reinvigorated demands for enhanced child protection.
The tragedy touched a deep nerve in a country where child abuse frequently goes unreported, particularly when it takes place inside kinship networks.
For many, Saabirin's death represented a wider failure in child protection and the delayed enforcement of legal safeguards meant to prevent such tragedies.
The conviction of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the rare instances in Somalia where a court imposed the death sentence for child abuse.
Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has lodged an challenge against the verdict.
Her spouse, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but given one year in prison and fined $500 for negligence.
Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents died within a brief time when she was just one year old.
Both of her grandmothers had also died so she was cared for by her late mother's aunt, who made sure she got an schooling and attended a traditional Quranic school.
But her life took a tragic turn in September after Saabirin's great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a home help, could take her in.
During their investigation, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and tortured.
Evidence recovered from Diiriye's phone, including videos and audio recordings captured repeated violence. Some of these were leaked to the public before the trial.
In one especially disturbing recording, Diiriye can be heard saying: "I'm enjoying your pain."
A post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body showed multiple injuries and deep stab wounds consistent with prolonged violence.
As details of the police investigation emerged, public anger escalated.
Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" and calling on the authorities to bring to trial all those responsible.
They gathered outside the local hospital where her body was held in the morgue.
Things got so heated that during one protest demonstrators clashed with police and a young man was killed by gunfire.
Online, young women and girls launched a wave of support movements, using social media tags invoking Saabirin's name.
"No child should die like this," a tearful 18-year-old protester said in a clip shared on social media. "We also reject the attempts by traditional elders who want to resolve this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."
This describes when elders from the families of those involved in a dispute intervene with the aim of preventing revenge, rather than establish criminal guilt.
Child abuse in Somalia is often concealed within households, and relatives are customarily viewed as safe spaces – where the state should not intervene.
Diiriye's trial and other related hearings were streamed live on social media to ensure public trust in the justice system.
A regional police commander said the verdict marked an important moment in the quest of justice for the murdered teenager.
"The perpetrator is now only awaiting the implementation of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges proving that other individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be spared, the law will be fully applied to them as well," he said.
A director of a child rights organisation said that "the case highlights the deep gaps that still exist in safeguarding the most basic human rights of children in our society."
"Children continue to face violence inside family homes, and only the most severe cases ever are reported to the police," he added.
In June this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, received a report that a three-year-old boy had been severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The alleged perpetrator was swiftly arrested.
According to a report, three appalling acts of violence against children occurred in the country during October and November.
The head of a local women's association in Galkayo said the community was overwhelmed with cases of violence in the home, many of which never make it to the courts.
On 1 October this year, Somalia's parliament ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
The long-standing charter outlines legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against minors.
Its provisions include:
But just three days later, a government department issued a clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions conflicting with religious teaching not being applied.
It said that Somali parental authority was fundamental and no external entity could supersede it.
A women's and child's rights activist argued that implementation of similar measures in Somalia remained ineffective.
The police do not have the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get interfered with clan elders, which undermines the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.
She notes that children were often did not know that they could speak out and many schools were not teaching them that they could disclose abuse.
"In many similar cases, both sides of the family reach a private agreement and then inform the government that the matter has been resolved," the activist said.
A official for the region's ministry of women's development rejects that the authorities are failing in their responsibility to protect children.
She highlighted programmes to help youths and efforts to protect street children.
She did however admit that in cases like Saabirin's, it is sometimes difficult to intervene. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase understanding that people can speak out if they suspect that a child might not be safe.
"Every child has the right to be removed from any household in which they do not feel safe," the official said.
Although Saabirin's life was ended too soon, her death is now compelling overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.
But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are uncertain if true accountability will be achieved in the long run.
"There is nothing to rejoice yet, we still need clarity," one of the young protesters said. "We don't want justice in words, we want to see it with our own eyes. We don't want postponements."
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