Ali Iman Sharmarke

Ali Iman Sharmarke (, ) (b. 1956/1957-d. 11 August 2007) was a Somalian and Canadian journalist and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of HornAfrik Media Inc, the first independent radio network to have its headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia. In 2007, he was killed by a roadside bomb. Sharmarke was posthumously awarded the CJFE's International Press Freedom Award and Tara Singh Hayer Award for his journalistic work. His family also established the Sharmarke Peace Foundation in his memory.

Personal life Sharmarke was raised in Somalia. After the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, he emigrated to Canada.

Sharmarke was married to Luul Mohamed, with whom he had three children, Liban, Hanad, and Nora.

Career

Finance Department Sharmarke initially worked at the Department of Finance Canada in Ottawa. Although he had no previous background in journalism, he set out to establish a new radio network in Somalia so as to facilitate access to information and to give local residents an outlet to express their views. Concluding that the project was workable, the independent HornAfrik broadcast firm was subsequently officially launched on 12 December 1999.

Additionally, HornAfrik engaged in some philanthropic work. He was killed in the explosion, with fellow passenger and journalist Sahal Abdulle lightly wounded on the head and face.

A few hours before his death, Sharmarke had told Reuters that "perpetrators want to silence our voices in order to commit their crimes." His slaying sparked outrage among his colleagues in the reporting community. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) suggested in a statement that "this wave of killing and injuring media people [was] an intentionally organised mission to silence journalistic voices in Somalia." However, the union did not lay blame on any specific group or individual, nor did any other party.

Sharmarke Peace Foundation In August 2009, Sharmarke's widow Luul and their son Liban, an Ottawa-based businessman, established the Sharmarke Peace Foundation in his honor.

In 2007, Sharmarke was also posthumously awarded the Tara Singh Hayer Award by the CJFE for his courage in the field of journalism. His son Liban accepted the prize on his behalf.