Sadeboi,
Ama Dhuus ama Dhac, you cant change the man's glorious History. Cabdrixamaan Mursal shot the English guy in the ear and wore his Hat as a trophy. He shot up the rest of the British. I dont care about schit little camel dispute between two Geeljire. This man went down in history for Confronting the British invaders. And that is why we give him Kudos. As does the Academics who devote their time and Energy to Somali History.
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On 2 February 1916, the disaster that British officials had feared would one
day happen in the NFD occurred in neighboring Jubaland. There, a large party
of northern Aulihan led by Hajji ‘Abdurrahman Mursaal surprised and killed
the Serenli DC, Lieutenant Francis Elliot, and many of the British garrison. It
is important to understand the motives that lay behind the sack of Serenli. The
incident actually arose from a dispute between Aulihan and Marehan Somalis
not long after the outbreak of the First World War and from which a series of
raids and reprisals had followed. Following the deaths of nine Marehan at the
hands of northern Aulihan and the looting of hundreds of camels, Lieutenant
Elliot had publicly given ‘Abdurrahman Mursaal an ultimatum to surrender the
stolen animals to him within three days. Instead, the government-paid Reer
Waffatu headman defiantly delivered a gift of black animals that, by Somali cus-
tom, constituted an open challenge to the Serenli DC.
The undaunted, but injudicious, Elliot apparently was contemptuous of the threat and failed to take
precautions. Instead, he continued his incredible practice of locking the garri-
son’s rifles in the guardroom each evening before sunset.
Moreover, he allowed a large contingent of Aulihan to camp just 100 yards from the boma.
Meanwhile the a s k a r is, or African soldiers, we re settling down to eve n i n g
meals, the Aulihan burst upon the British post. The Somalis set the surprised
soldiers’ huts on fire, and killed many of them as they fled the flames. By one
account, ‘A b d u r rahman Mursaal himself is said to have shot Elliot beneath the
ear with a revo l ve r, and by another, to have donned Elliot’s sun helmet after the
raid. Dozens of Elliot’s men we re killed in the attack, while the survivo r s
escaped across the Juba River to the nearby Italian post at Baard h e e re. The
Somalis captured the company’s maxim gun along with large quantities of arms
and ammunition.
For the next 18 months, `A b d u r rahman Mursaal’s northern
Aulihan, strengthened by the acquisition of British weapons, held free reign ove r
much of Jubaland and threatened British rule in the NFD as well. Indeed, a
British officer with service in the region would later describe the Ogaden, of
whom the Aulihan we re a part, as “one of the most formidable fighting tribes in
Africa” because of their mobility with their ponies, re m a r kable endura n c e, and
the skill with which they wielded their spears.
