Boqor This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali people's various sultanates, kingdoms and empires. Also included are the honorifics reserved for Islamic notables as well as traditional leaders and o ...

Osman Aw Mohamud (), more commonly known as Buurmadow is clan elder

from

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

Biography

Mohamud was born in 1964 in

El Afweyn El Afweyn (, ) is a town in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. El Afweyn is a major historical town in western Sanaag region and sits at the major road connecting the cities of Burao and Erigavo. By road, the town is approximately 283 km east ...

, in the

Sanaag Sanag (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Regions of Somalia
Sa ...

region of

to a family of nomads, with his father being a livestock trader. He belongs to the

Musa Abokor The Musa Abokor (, full name:'' Mūsa ibn Abū Bakr ibn Jibrīl ibn Abū Bakr ibn Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a Somali clan, and a 2 major sub-division of the muuse sh isxaaq clan of the Isaaq clan-family. The Musa Abokor ar ...

sub-division of the

Habr Je'lo The Habr Je'lo (), , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala () is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form the Habr Habusheed () confederation along with t ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

. He graduated from University in 1986 where he studied law. He later joined the

Somali Salvation Democratic Front Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) (), initially known as the Democratic Front for Salvation of Somalia, was a political and paramilitary umbrella organization in Somalia. Founded in 1978 by several army officers, it was the first of severa ...

, a rebel group with the goal of overthrowing

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

's regime shortly after. In 1984 he subsequently joined the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement (, ) was one of the first and most important Guerrilla warfare, organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government f ...

, another rebel group with a similar goal. After the conclusion of the war and throughout the 1990s Mohamud was a business man. In 2000, he was crowned a ''boqor'', or king, in Somali. Mohamud is known for his efforts at mediating regional conflicts, particularly among clans in Somaliland. He earned fame as a mediator between

Abdullahi Yusuf Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (, ‎; 15 December 1934 – 23 March 2012), was a Somali politician and former military official who served as the first President of Puntland from 1998 to 2004. He also played a key role in establishing the Transitional ...

, the first and founding president of the

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

region in northern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and

Mohamud Muse Hersi ''Maj Gen'' Mohamud Muse Hersi (, ; 1 July 1937 – 8 February 2017), Adde Musa, was a Somali military official and former President of Puntland from 8 January 2005 to 8 January 2009. Biography A former General in the Somali Armed Forces of ...

in the dispute over the presidency in

between 2002 and 2003. With the help of his mediation, a peace agreement that prevented Puntland from an all out civil war and guaranteed its stability for the coming years was finally signed in May 2003. Mohamud has since then been considered a man with great influence and with good connections to the governments of both

and

. On 17 November 2011, he was arrested in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(UAE), visiting his wife who resides there while returning from a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. The government never offered formal charges against him, prompting

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

to issue an alert on his behalf; the group later speculated that UAE had arrested him at the prompting of Somaliland authorities. Mohamud was released on 5 January 2012. Upon returning to Somaliland on 15 March, Mohamud was arrested at the airport in

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

. After forty days of detention, the local government charged him with what it termed "anti-national activity of a citizen abroad”, "subversive or anti-national propaganda" and "continuing offence" in response to a comment he had made while in the UAE criticizing a trip to China by President

Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (, ; 1 June 1938 – 15 November 2024), known by his nickname Silanyo (), was a Somaliland politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2017. During the 1980s, he also served as the Chairman of the ...

of Somaliland. On 8 July, these charges were dismissed and replaced by a charge of "insulting a public official", of which the judge found Mohamud guilty. Mohamud was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison for defamation, according to local law based on the colonial period

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

penal code. Amnesty International responded by declaring Mohamud a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

, detained "for exercising his right to freedom of expression". On 18 July, the Somaliland government pardoned Mohamud, apparently in response to international pressure, and he returned to his home in Hargeisa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buurmadow Living people 1960s births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Somaliland Place of birth missing (living people) Somaliland politicians Somalian prisoners and detainees Somalian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of the United Arab Emirates Year of birth missing (living people)