A bodyguard travelling with Mogadishu’s police chief was killed at Dhusamareb Airport when a plane’s spinning propeller struck his head after he stepped off.
A police officer assigned to protect Mogadishu’s police chief was killed at an airport in central Somalia on Tuesday after walking into the spinning propeller of the plane he had just left. The officer died at the scene.
The dead man was Mukhtar Qasim Samay, a member of the Somali Police Force serving on the security detail of police chief Ma’alin Mahdi, Somali media reported.
Mahdi and his team had flown into Dhusamareb ahead of Thursday’s inauguration of Galmudug’s incoming leader, Liban Ahmed Hassan, an event expected to draw political and security officials.
Dalsan TV reported that the officer was moving away from the aircraft when its propeller, still turning, struck his head.
Footage shared on social media shows the uniformed officer coming down the plane’s stairs and then walking off, with the propeller still in motion behind him. He was hit shortly afterwards.
Dhusamareb is the administrative capital of Galmudug, one of Somalia’s federal member states. Security in the city had been tightened ahead of the inauguration, according to local outlet Mustaqbal.
Samay was among the officers accompanying Mahdi on the trip when the accident happened.
News of the death brought a tribute from Mahdi Omar Mumin, who offered condolences to the officer’s family, friends and colleagues in the force.
In a post on Facebook, Mumin called Samay one of the heroes of the Somali Police Force, naming the Haramacad unit in particular, and prayed for his soul.
“Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raajicuun. I send my deepest condolences to the family, relatives, friends and all the Somali Police Forces, the shocking death that happened to them,” he wrote.
“May Allah have mercy on K/S Muqtar Qaasim Samay, who was one of the heroes of the Somali Police force, especially Haramacad who died in a plane crash this afternoon,” he added.
Mumin also prayed that the officer’s family and relatives would find patience and strength as they mourned.
Mahdi’s visit to Dhusamareb was tied to the swearing-in of Galmudug’s new leader, a ceremony bringing together officials from across the region.
The officer’s death was sudden and public, unfolding in front of other travellers and security personnel on the tarmac just after the aircraft came to a stop.