Protesters Behind Bars, The Hole Still Open: Bajaj Drivers and Activists Detained in Mogadishu

As fuel prices rise nearly 200%, Somali authorities arrest protesters — including a prominent female activist — and hold them at a site long associated with abusive detention

Somali authorities have arrested bajaj drivers and activists protesting a near-200% fuel price hike. Among them: Sadiyo Bajaaj, a female activist and university graduate. She was held without charge, denied family visits, and confined in a station with no separate facilities for women. The police commander threatened to kill protesters if demonstrations continue. The Hole is still open.

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Detained for Protesting a Fuel Price Hike

Somali authorities have detained several prominent tuk-tuk (bajaj) drivers and activists following widespread protests over a significant increase in petrol prices, according to local reports and civil-society sources. The price increase — from around 0.60 to 1.75 per litre, a rise of approximately 192% — sparked demonstrations across Mogadishu by bajaj drivers, one of the city’s most economically marginal communities.

Among those arrested was Sadiyo Moalin Ali, known as Sadiyo Bajaaj — a university graduate and prominent female bajaj driver who supports her family in a male-dominated profession. She was detained in Mogadishu on March 11, 2026, after participating in and organizing protests by bajaj drivers against the fuel price increase. Her detention prompted immediate condemnation from opposition figures and analysts, who called for her immediate release.

Reports indicate that two other well-known tuk-tuk activists, Sayid Ali (known as Saan Miyaa) and Abdi Dheere, were also arrested. Both were reportedly apprehended by the Somali Police Force and the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) on Maka al-Mukarama Avenue after publicly criticizing government corruption and highlighting the hunger and economic repression experienced by Mogadishu residents. Observers described their detentions as part of a broader crackdown on media, public commentary, and dissent.

Bajaj drivers in Mogadishu protesting against fuel price increases. | OPR Documentation

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No Charges, No Family Access, No Separate Facilities for Women

Those detained are currently held at Hodan District police station in Mogadishu. Sadiyo’s family attempted to visit her in custody but were denied access. No formal charges have been filed, and the detainees have not been brought before a court — some have been held for more than 48 hours, in direct violation of the 48-hour constitutional requirement for appearance before a judge.

More concerningly, the Hodan District police station reportedly lacks separate detention facilities for men and women, meaning women such as Sadiyo are being held in the same area as male detainees — a situation that creates serious and documented risks of harassment, abuse, and sexual violence.

Interior documentation of detention conditions at the facility where activists are being held. | OPR

The Mogadishu Police Commander reportedly delivered a public speech threatening to kill protesters if demonstrations do not cease. OPR Special Assessment, March 2026

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The Hole Remains Operational

The detention of these activists coincides with OPR’s assessment that Godka Jilacow — “The Hole” — remains in active operation as a detention site in Mogadishu. Godka Jilacow has a long-documented history of abusive conditions: subterranean cells, extreme heat, darkness, denial of food and water, and incommunicado detention that prevents any contact with family or legal counsel. It has been referenced in survivor testimony gathered across multiple OPR investigations as a site where physical abuse and psychological torture have been used as tools of coercion.

The Somali government has not issued a comprehensive public statement detailing charges or legal proceedings in any of these cases. International and local rights organizations continue to monitor developments and are urging adherence to due process and the protection of protesters’ civil liberties.

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A Pattern of Silencing Dissent and Economic Protest

The Somali government has frequently been accused of detaining activists — including women and girls — and of silencing dissent through arrest, intimidation, and prolonged detention without charge. The targeting of bajaj drivers is particularly significant: these are not political party members, not journalists, not formal civil society organizations. They are working people, protesting an economic decision that directly reduces their ability to feed their families. The government’s response — arrest, denial of family access, threats of lethal force — demonstrates that the state’s tolerance for dissent does not extend even to economic grievance expressed peacefully in the streets.

Human rights advocates and opposition leaders have condemned the arrests as disproportionate responses to peaceful protest. Calls for transparency regarding the grounds for detention and respect for the rights of peaceful protest have intensified amid ongoing economic hardship linked to rising fuel and food costs across Mogadishu.

Protesting a fuel price increase is not a crime. Arresting someone for doing so — and holding her without charge, without counsel, and without family access — is.

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