According to Africa Watch report A Government at War With its own People, the Mobile Military Court was created in 1982 (Jan. 1990, 45). A prominent member of the Somali commmunity in Toronto told the IRBDC in a telephone interview that after the 1969 coup, the Constitution was abolished and a military court was created. The government would send military judges to regions of potential uprisings. Most of these judges had no legal background except for a five-day legal training session with alegal adviser. Trials and executions often took place in military camps (Prominent member of the Somali community in Toronto 15 Aug. 1991). According to a Professor of History at Rutgers University, Newark, and an expert on Somalia, the military court of Hargeisa, later known as the Mobile Military Court, was created as an extraordinary court to deal with dissent. The court was known for harsh sentences, such as long prison terms and execution. Human rights were not respected and there was no legal framework. All judges and lawyers were appointed military officers, and not all of them were acquainted with legal procedures. Those sentenced to long prison terms or execution were transferred to well-known prisons such as Memdera, in the east of Hargeisa. There was also a small detention facility attached to the military court. Many Majerteen were tried at the military court of Golka'yu, in the province of Mudug between 1979 and 1980, and many more Issaqs were tried at the military court of Hargeisa between 1987 and 1988 (Samatar 16 Aug. 1991).
Bibliography

Africa Watch. January 1990. A Government At War With Its People. New York: The Africa Watch Committee.
Prominent member of the Somali community in Toronto. 15 August 1991. Telephone Interview.
Samatar, S. Said, Professor of History at Rutgers University, Newark, and an expert on Somalia. 16 August 1991. Telephone Interview.