Ex-PM Ali Gulaid interred in Mogadishu after state funeral

Former Prime Minister Ali Khalif Gulaid was today buried in Mogadishu following a state funeral led by President Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Roble.

The body of the deceased leader was flown into Mogadishu Saturday morning from Ethiopia where he died on Thursday. Medical personnel donning full COVID-19 personal protective gear carried the casket of the dead leader in compliance with health regulations on COVID-19.

The Somali State government in Ethiopia said Friday the former premier died of COVID-19 but the family has dismissed the autopsy report noting Gulaid may have been poisoned.

Family spokesman Mukhtar Hamid said in an interview with BBC Somali Service the former university don and politician was poisoned and called for an independent investigation.

Gulaid served as Prime Minister between October 2000 and October 2000 in the first post-civil war government in Somalia. He taught in universities in the U.S and later declared himself president of the non-recognized Khatumo state in 2014.