The 1961 coup tested the young republic’s commitment to rule of law

Evidence

The attempted coup became the first serious test for the democratic government of the country and to the unity of the nation. Examining how the government and the courts dealt with the affair and the culprits provides a clue to the leadership’s commitment to the rule of law. The first official step the government took was to dispatch senior military and civilian leaders, such as the ministers of Interior and Defense and the commanders of the police and military forces, to Hargeisa to investigate and report on what went wrong. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 634

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 634