Somalia’s former president Ali Mahdi Muhammad has died in Kenya’s capital Nairobi aged 83, officials in Mogadishu and members of his family announced on Wednesday. He was said to be ill in Nairobi, Kenya. He reportedly contracted COVID-19.Former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed tweeted that he was among the officials who immediately sent condolences over the death of Ali Mahdi. He was the fourth president of Somalia. The United Somali Congress, which took control of Mogadishu and other parts of the country, elected him president on January 28, 1991.
Ali Mahdi’s appointment was immediately opposed by one of the leaders of the USC, General Mohamed Farah Aideed. The factions that overthrew Mohamed Siad Barre met again in Djibouti in July 1991, and re-elected Ali Mahdi as President of Somalia. Despite opposition from some quarters in the country, he was replaced by President Abdikasim Salad Hassan, who was elected in Djibouti in 2000.Ali Mahdi was born in Addow-Uul, near Adale district in the Middle Shabelle region in 1935, and received his primary education in Mogadishu. In 1969 Ali Mahdi joined the civilian parliament before the military coup. In the 1970s Ali Mahdi turned to business and succeeded. He also worked for the Somali Ministry of Health, specifically for the Malaria Project.