A Somali soldier has been detained by security authorities in central Somalia for fatally shooting a minibus driver on Tuesday after an altercation at an unofficial checkpoint close to Balcad town.
Locals said that the murder took place early in the morning while the van was making its way from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to Jowhar.
Rogue troops reportedly requested a payment of roughly 100,000 Somali shillings to establish the unlawful checkpoint. Before a dispute broke out and the driver of the minibus was fatally shot, the driver informed the soldier that he could only pay 90,000.
Over a dozen passengers who witnessed the murder were being transported by the minibus.
The body of the driver was left by the checkpoint’s side for several hours before being taken away by locals for a suitable Islamic burial.
After residents, minibus drivers, and others arrived at the crime scene and urged authorities to act, the soldier was taken into custody.
The inquiry will be handed off to the CID, and a court-martial will be held for the soldier.
Following a request from Somalia’s president that Middle Shabelle’s illegal roadblocks be removed and a threat that rogue soldiers would face harsh punishment for extorting villagers, a murder occurred on Tuesday.