Posting for peace: the Mogadishu judge taking on terrorism with TikTok

Sharing court clips with his 1.5m followers has made Hassan Shuute one of Somalia's leading influencers

- Layla Mahmood

In a courtroom in Mogadishu, three members of al-Shabaab's suicide bombing division were on trial, accused of planning to bomb the city's Doorbin hotel.

Over several trials, spanning an 11-month investigation, Colonel Hassan Ali Nur Shuute, a military judge in his late 30s known for his contemplative yet fiery line of questioning, carefully examined the evidence and pulled apart their defences. One defendant eventually cracked. “My aim is to attack the court you are standing in, and all it represents,” he declared, with icy confidence. “My attack was directed at the followers of the infidels.”

The trial earlier this year didn't just play out in the courtroom - filmed by Somali TV outlets, it was also chopped up into bite-size clips by Shuute’s military press team, who posted highlights to his TikTok feed and its 1.5 million followers.

Somali TikKok is part soap opera, part compelling drama - a testament to the creativity of social media users. Feeds are populated with everything from reality-style videos of lovers' spats to opposing clans trading insults for money. But one of the leading influencers is arguably Shuute, whose videos from inside the courtroom offer unique access into the country's war on terror, streamed directly on Somali smartphones.

One day, he might be questioning a market woman on trial for being caught with explosives concealed in her produce. The next it’s al-Shabaab assassins linked to high-profile murders of government officials.

For Shuute, the war on terror is best fought in the courtroom, which he describes as “the true frontline in the battle for the rule of law”.