Last pilot of Somali Airlines dies in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda - The man who made history for flying the would-be Somali Airlines took his last bow on Friday, over thirty years after he left the country following the collapse of the once most competitive national carrier in the entire East Africa region but would be ruined by the civil war.

Captain Jama Ofle died on Friday in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, exactly 31 years after he lady flew the defunct airline. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdusalam Omer, who was a friend and a brother-in-law to the late captain, confirmed Ofle's death on Twitter.

In 1991, Captain Jama Ofle flew a White Star Service plane from Mogadishu to Frankfurt and it will turn out to be the last flight by the national carrier as the country plunged into civil war. Military leader Siad Barre was overthrown as Somalia reverted to anarchy.

The brave captain was hailed by passengers for a successful flight to Germany even in the middle of uncertainty back home. Somalia is yet to have a stable government since then and is now dependent on airlines from neighboring countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya.

The airline, which was once a symbol of national pride and a vital link for Somalia's international trade and diplomacy, could not withstand the war's devastating effects and the country's political instability and eventually was forced to suspend all flights in 1991, ending years of progress in the aviation industry.

Thereafter, the clan militia targeted critical Airline infrastructure with a number of planes failing to return to the country. The country acquired Airbus A310s recently as Somalia seeks to revive the national pride which once dominated East African skies.

Somalia Aircraft F-ODSV would exchange hands several times including being leased to Qatar and Yemen before the takeover by Pakistan. It is still in use within Pakistani as the country struggles to restart airline services in three decades.

Captain Jama Ofle, in his multiple interviews, spoke proudly of his contribution to the nation by flying in the skies several times with the White Star. He was trained in West Germany's Lufthansa Aviation Training Academy in the 60s, modern-day Germany.

He is said to have taken refuge in Uganda where he used to fly several times. So devastating has been his death that he has been mourned across the country, with many of his peers acknowledging his contributions to the aviation industry in the Horn of Africa nation.

GAROWE ONLINE