Clayton Matchee
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Corporal Clayton Matchee (born 1965) was a Canadian soldier and a central figure in the Somalia Affair.
A member of the Cree First Nation the 6'4" and powerfully built Matchee joined Canada's elite Airborne Regiment in 1988. The regiment was sent to participate in the humanitarian mission in Somalia in 1993.
On March 16 a sixteen year old Somali teenager Shidane Arone was captured trying to steal from the Canadian compound. He was placed in the custody of Matchee who bound him and proceeded to beat him with his feet, batons, and fists. Matchee was joined by Kyle Brown and the guards posed for photos with Arone's battered body. Sixteen soldiers were in the room at the time of the beatings and most of the base could hear the screaming. Arone died of his injuries during the night.
Matchee was arrested two days later, but that night he attempted suicide by hanging himself with a jacket drawstring from his jacket. He was discovered and cut down but while he survived he suffered massive brain damage.
He was ruled unfit for trial and has spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital. A larger scandal erupted over the systemic problems in the military and the attempt to cover up the events. This led to the eventual dissolution of the Airborne and a sharp decline in the reputation of the entire Canadian armed forces.