The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) strongly condemns the targeted and heartless killing of an independent journalist in northern Galkayo of Mudug region in central Somalia.
Veteran Freelance Journalist Jamal Farah Adan, 56, was attached by two men armed at around 18:45 while he was seated in front of a shop owned by his family in Galkayo’s Siinay neighbourhood. The assailants shot him twice in the head and once in the neck, according to officials at Galkayo Medical Center (GMC) where he was pronounced dead by doctors. Puntland police immediately reached the crime scene, but the suspected killers have already escaped.
Jamal Farah Adan who worked with several media houses in Puntland such as Radio Daljir, Radio Galkayo and Radio Garowe has been working as a freelance journalist in recent months. He has been recently criticizing Al-Shabaab and its operation in Mudug through radio programmes.
According to two journalists in Galkayo who spoke to NUSOJ but cannot be named in fear of their safety, the late journalist told them in person on Friday, 26 February 2021, that he is receiving death threats, and was thinking of leaving Galkayo.
“We condemn the horrendous and cold-blooded killing of Jamal Farah Adan in Galkayo which has become the second mostly deadly place for journalists in Somalia,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. “More and more independent voices are being silenced in Somalia at this critical time in the country’s history, when the people desperately need unfettered access to impartial information.”
“This is a shocking murder, and we demand the Puntland authorities to give top priority to bringing the killers to justice. The previous killers of journalists in Galkayo have never been punished” added Osman.
The killing of Journalist Jamal Farah Adan is the first death of a journalist in 2021 to be registered by NUSOJ. He left an extended family.
