A magistrate court in Wajir granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations a green light to exhume the body of Gaala Aden Abdi, a 17-year-old who was burnt to death after allegedly refusing to marry a 55-year-old man.
The incident happened in the area after the girl who was a refugee was forcefully taken there for the arranged marriage. Such practices are common in the region amid calls to discard the same.
Police are investigating murder in the death of the girl.
Gaala was buried on March 22 at Dagahaley Refugee Camp in Dadaab, Wajir County.
The court said the Sub County Criminal Investigations Officer of Wajir West will supervise the exhumation process.
The court further ordered that the Dagahaley Police Station provide security during the exhumation process.
The purpose of the exhumation is to conduct a repeat postmortem examination to ascertain the precise cause of death and to extract samples for toxicology and DNA analysis.
The investigators propose that DNA sampling be conducted at the gravesite or another location as advised by the Government Pathologist.
The 17-year-old girl was brutally murdered after she rejected a 55-year-old man to whom she had been forcibly married.
She had been transported at night from the Dagahley refugee camp, 150 kilometers away, to Wara, Ademasajida in Habaswein—a remote village— to meet the man for the first time.
Her rejection, despite coercion from the man’s relatives, led to her death.
However, she reportedly made a call on Saturday night, revealing plans for her death and naming those who orchestrated it.
A postmortem examination report revealed her body had sustained 100 percent burns, indicating the use of an open flame.
At least three suspects have been presented in court in connection with the incident.
Dozens of institutions and individuals have condemned the incident and called for action on those responsible for the same.
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