17-year-old Gaala Aden’s last plea for help before her gruesome death in Wajir
The 17-year-old girl's only crime was refusing to marry a 55-year-old man.
Gaala Aden Abdi's last moments were filled with fear and pain.
This story, which was aired on NTV on Wednesday night, revealed that the 17-year-old girl, whose only crime was refusing to marry a 55-year-old man, pleaded for help in a voice recording sent to her mother.
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"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," Gaala said in a voice note sent to her mother as translated by NTV.
Days later, she was dead, her body set on fire in what is now being described as a brutal femicide case in Wajir County.
Gaala, who came from a refugee family in the Dadaab refugee camp, had made a desperate call to her mother and stepfather on the night of Saturday, March 22, 2025.
She spoke of the imminent danger she faced. But before her family could do anything, they received another call, this time delivering the devastating news of her murder.
Gaala’s mother recalled receiving a distressing call from her daughter at 10 pm, just as people were returning from prayers.
“They have started knifing me, and my phone is being taken away," her mother painfully recounted.
Four hours later, Gaala’s mother was notified of her daughter’s death.
“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,” she told NTV.
According to her mother, three men were involved in the murder, including her husband, Mohammed Qasim Tifo, his brother Musa Tifo Kassim, and another man, Abdullahi Kassim Tifo.
She revealed how, on the same evening, she was told to forget her daughter.
“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," Gaala’s mother recounted.
Gruesome death
A postmortem report confirmed the brutality she suffered.
According to NTV, medical documents revealed that Gaala had suffered 100-degree burns, a spinal column injury, and other severe wounds caused by open flames.
Her body was found lying outside a rental house, a grim testament to the horror she had endured.
The police have since arrested the main suspect, though investigations are still ongoing.
The murder has sparked outrage across the country, with human rights groups, legal bodies, and activists demanding justice.
The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) described the killing as a horrifying example of gender-based violence and called for urgent action.
"Forced marriages are illegal. We call on law enforcement to act swiftly and ensure justice for this young girl," the commission said in a statement.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK), through its President Faith Odhiambo, also condemned the murder, stressing the need for immediate action.
"Another day, another femicide case, another innocent life lost. Have we lost our humanity?" LSK President Faith Odhiambo stated.
She urged security agencies to find and prosecute those responsible, insisting that justice must be served.
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