Somali novelist, language enthusiast and former MP Mohamed Afrah is dead

Somali novelist, language enthusiast and politician Professor Mohamed Dahir Afrah died in London Saturday evening after a long illness. He was 70.

Prior to his death, Afrah had served as Member of Parliament and Minister of State for International Relations in the Transitional Federal Government, and was currently the Chairman of the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission.

In the literary world, the late renowned writer authored the famous book, Mana-fay and was a founding member of Somali Pen Club, SSPEN (3) which is part of the Pen Club, a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers globally.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and outgoing president Mohamed Farmaajo led the nation in mourning Afrah

“I extend my condolences to his family, friends and the Somali people at large for the tragic death of Dr. Mohamed Dahir Afrah, Chairman of the Regional Language Academy and the Constitutional Review Committee,” PM Roble said.

Roble noted Dahir as an exemplary Somali scholar and writer who contributed eminently to the development of the culture and writing of the nation’s native language.