A vehicle bomb went off outside the Top Coffee restaurant, which was packed with football fans, about a kilometer away, emphasizing the stark differences in living conditions in Somalia.
At least five people were killed and over twenty were injured in a nearby explosion that occurred while the beauty competition finalists were parading through the hotel.
Al-Shabab, a militant Islamist organization that has ruled most of Somalia for more than 15 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In 2021, Hani Abdi Gas bravely created the Miss Somalia competition.
On lists of the worst locations in the world for women to live, Somalia consistently tops the list.
Ms. Gas and hundreds of thousands of other Somali refugees from war and drought grew up together in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. 2020 saw her return to her own country.
