What can we learn from the life and execution of Mahmood Mattan?
He was a Somali seaman found guilty of murder in Wales in 1952
Africa Daily · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
Mahmood Mattan was born in 1923 and was a young man when he left his home in Hargeisa, in what later became Somaliland, to live in Cardiff in Wales. He settled in a community called Tiger Bay, worked as a seaman, got married and had three children. In 1952 he was accused of murdering Lily Volpert, a local businesswoman. He was found guilty and executed by hanging in prison.
For years Mahmood Mattan’s family maintained his innocence and his conviction was quashed in 1998. Last week, 70 years after Mahmood Mattan’s execution, South Wales police apologised and admitted the prosecution was "flawed".
In today’s Africa Daily, Victoria Uwonkunda has been finding out more about the life and death of Mahmood Mattan from Danielle Fahiya, the presenter/producer of a new BBC podcast called Mattan: Injustice of a Hanged Man.