Teen Girl Killed in Kenya’s Wajir After Refusing Forced Marriage

WAJIR, Kenya — A 17-year-old refugee girl was killed in a horrific incident in Wajir, a town in Kenya’s North Eastern region, after resisting a forced marriage to a 55-year-old man, authorities and family members said.

Gaala Adan Abdi was abducted from the Dagahley refugee camp in Dadaab and taken 150 kilometers away to the remote village of Wara Ademasajida, where she intended to marry Mohamed Kassim Tifow.

Upon meeting the man and refusing the union, she endured 27 days of continuous physical abuse, which ultimately led to her death, her family reported. Her body was then burned in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

“Every night they beat me, they didn’t stop for 24 hours. This isn’t a man I can marry; I was forced into this,” Gaala said in her final voice message to her parents before her death.

On March 22, Gaala made a desperate call to her mother and uncle, warning that her life was in danger. Hours later, a relative contacted the family to inform them she had been killed.

An autopsy confirmed Gaala was murdered before her body was set ablaze. Police have arrested Tifow, the man she was forcibly betrothed to, and he is currently being questioned as part of an ongoing investigation.

The case has drawn attention to the persistent issue of forced marriages in the region, with authorities yet to release further details.

GAROWE ONLINE