CCTV cameras put shopkeepers in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu at risk

Shopkeepers in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, are caught between a rock and a hard place over a government directive to install CCTV cameras outside their businesses to increase surveillance of Islamist insurgents who have a strong presence in the city.

The businessmen say that if they install the cameras, they risk being shot by al-Shabaab insurgents, and if they don’t, they could be arrested by police.

The BBC has changed the names of the businessmen and homeowners for their own safety.

“CCTV cameras are the reason you see me at home now,” says former shop owner Hamza Noor, 48, as he sits on a sofa holding one of his children.

He tells the BBC he made the painful decision to sell his business to avoid the wrath of either party.

“They tell you not to remove the cameras on one side and then they tell you to remove the cameras on the other side. Depending on the choice you make, there will be a bullet cell or prison waiting for you,” Mr. Noor adds.

Last year, the government issued a directive to shopkeepers to install CCTV cameras – at their own expense – to deter Al Shabaab attacks.

This was said by the Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu, Mohamed Ahmed Dirie BBC Africa Daily Podcast that decision paid off.

“There used to be four or five bombings a month in Mogadishu, but that’s not the case anymore,” he says.

The government has now ordered residents to install the cameras outside homes and apartment blocks, raising fears among many that al-Shabaab could bring its war into their homes.

Since October, al-Shabaab has killed four businessmen in 10 attacks linked to the installation of CCTV cameras, according to leading violence monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (Acled).

The government’s directive was intended to eventually disrupt al-Shabaab’s sources of funding as it siphoned money from shopkeepers, but the insurgents’ retaliatory attacks “forced many businesses in Mogadishu’s main markets to close for days,” Akled added in a report published on its website.

Mr Nuur says he initially ignored the government’s directive but was forced to install the cameras after being confronted by members of the security forces.

“I tried to explain to them that I was just a poor person and I didn’t want to mess with the government, but they got angry and started threatening me, saying they would ruin my life,” he told the BBC.

Mr Nuur says that after installing a CCTV camera, he started receiving calls from unrecognizable numbers.

“My body started shaking from the inside. I knew who it was,” he says, referring to al-Shabaab operatives who have a well-entrenched spy network that allows them to obtain information on civilians like Mr. Noor.

Mr Nuur says he changed his number only to have a young man come to him in his shop one morning.

“He lifted his shirt. He had a gun in his waistband. He ordered me to turn on my SIM card.”

Mr Nuur says he agreed and the phone rang, with the anonymous caller wanting to know if “the government’s demands are more important to you than ours”.

“I didn’t know what to do. The young man with the gun was standing there the whole time. I was thinking after I hung up on this call if he was going to shoot. So I whispered a prayer under my breath,” adds Mr Nuur.

He says luckily the man “walked out of the store without incident after I hung up.”

Mr Nuur says he decided to sell his business after two shopkeepers were shot dead in October.

“There is nothing more precious than human life,” he says.

Critical of the government’s directive, Mr. Noor added: “People trying to make ends meet are embroiled in a war against a powerful group that even the government is finding difficult to fight. Just imagine how we feel as civilians.”

Diriye denies that businesses are shutting down or that owners are being forced to install CCTV cameras.

However, he admits that some businessmen have fears, but says the government is doing its best to reassure and protect them.

“The city is calm and business is going smoothly,” adds Dirie.

But Asiyo Mohamed Warsame tells the BBC that masked gunmen killed her 40-year-old brother Dahir Mohamed Warsame at his shop in Mogadishu’s Yakshid district in October after he installed CCTV cameras under pressure from security forces.

“He left behind six children, the youngest just four months old,” she says.

Shop owner Ismael Hashi, 33, says he closed his business after receiving anonymous calls from suspected al-Shabaab operatives.

“They knew my name plus a lot more. It was like they already knew everything about me,” he tells the BBC.

Mr Hashi adds that he later received a call from the police and was told to open his shop – and when he ignored them, he was detained for several days before being released.

Mr Hashi says he has now resumed business.

“I still have CCTV cameras installed at the behest of the government, but I know the government cannot protect me if someone decides to take my life,” he says.

“Every time I’m behind the counter and someone I don’t know comes in, I get nervous and wonder if this is the person sent to kill me,” adds Mr Hashi.

Sidou Abdullahi Mohammed, 39, told the BBC he was arrested for failing to install a CCTV camera at his home in the Wajir district.

He adds that 14 other people on his street have also been arrested.

“We were shifted to Wadajir District Police Station where we were detained for hours. We were eventually released after someone with a government ID card came and vouched for us and got us out,” says Mr Mohammed.

He adds that he and other residents have already installed CCTV cameras – but live in fear.

“As civilians, we are forced to buy the cameras, pay to install them in our homes and risk violence from al-Shabaab. Is this how the government expects to win hearts and minds?”