MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – At least three Bajaj drivers and a local female journalist were injured on Tuesday in Mogadishu during a large-scale protest by rickshaw taxi drivers.
The drivers were protesting against what they claimed to be escalating extortion and bribery by government forces in Somalia’s capital.
The protest began in the KM4 area after the Tuk Tuk drivers declared a strike for the day. The protest soon escalated as the drivers marched toward the main Maka Al Mukarama Road and areas near the presidential palace.
Police in Mogadishu, led by their commander Mahdi Omar Muumin (Moalim Mahdi), a former Al-Shabaab defector, responded with force, firing shots to disperse the crowd. Police vehicles then charged toward the young Tuk Tuk drivers, attempting to break up the protest.
“We were marching on the road when the police car came. We tried to speak to them, but suddenly they sped off and hit three protesters,” said Abdi Mohamed, one of the demonstrators.
A video from the scene shows two police vehicles speeding through different sections of the protest, striking several protesters.
Mohamed Rashid Nur, another Tuk Tuk driver, said the protest was peaceful and that they were simply demanding security and protection from armed men who extort them daily.
“We pay taxes every month and other fees. But now they demand extra under different names like registration and painting. These are armed police trying to take our money by force. We cannot accept that,” he explained.
Abdiazis Yusuf Ali, another driver, shared his frustration after being forced to pay increased fees and bribes to renew his driving license.
“I paid more to get my license. Then I was asked to pay $18 for road tax, which I did. But then they asked for $150 more. How is that possible? This Bajaj barely makes enough to feed my family each day. I have no other job, so how can we survive?” he asked.
During the police crackdown, journalists were also targeted. Just before midday, BTN TV reporter Hibo Mohamoud was critically injured when a police 4WD vehicle rammed into her Bajaj taxi.
“They could see the journalist with her logo microphone, so they chased her until the police car hit the Bajaj taxi from the rear, tearing the skin and flesh apart starting beneath her knee,” said Ahmed Hassa, a colleague.
“I got surgery. I couldn’t find anywhere to flee as the soldiers in the car were shooting indiscriminately,” Hibo added.
Hibo was rushed to the hospital, where doctors performed surgery on her severely injured leg.
The police have not responded to requests for clarification regarding the incident.