Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi (Arabic: أحمد عبدالله محمد سامبي, born 5 June 1958) is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former President of Comoros. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 presidential election with 58.02% of the national vote, Sambi was inaugurated as President of the Union of the Comoros on 26 May 2006. It was the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of the Comoros.

Contents

• 1 Personal life
  • 1.1 "The Ayatollah of Comoros"
• 2 Political career
• 3 Corruption charges
• 4 Political views
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Personal life

Sambi was born in Mutsamudu, on the island of Anjouan. He is a father of seven children including two named Intisware and Fatoumat. He owns factories which produce mattresses, bottled water and perfume - a key Comorian export. He lives above a shop called The House of Mattresses in Mutsamudu, the capital of Anjouan. He also set up a television station called Ulezi (education).

He is of Hadhrami ancestry, descending from the Ba 'Alawi family of Hadhramaut (now part of Yemen). Therefore, he is a descendant of Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq and hence a Sayyid.

"The Ayatollah of Comoros"

He was educated in Islamic studies in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Qom, Iran. According to the Tehran-based Tabnak news agency, while Sambi was there he studied under Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. Despite his Sunni background, Sambi's time in Iran and his penchant for turbans earned him the nickname "The Ayatollah of Comoros".

Political career

Running as an independent candidate in the 16 April 2006 presidential primary election on the island of Anjouan, Sambi placed first out of thirteen candidates, winning 23.70% of the vote.

In the 14 May election, Sambi was declared the victor on 15 May by Secretary of State for elections Ali Abdallah over retired French air force officer Mohamed Djaanfari and long-time politician Ibrahim Halidi, whose candidacy was backed by Azali *oumani, the outgoing president.

Corruption charges

Main article: Comorian p*port

In 2018 Sambi was charged for planning the Comoros P*port scheme with Bashar Kiwan netting $200 million dollar from the UAE government.

Political views

Sambi has been quoted as saying that Comoros is not ready to become an Islamic state, nor will anyone be forced to wear a veil under his presidency. He also promised to fight corruption, create jobs and build better houses for the majority of Comorians living in poverty.

See also

• Politics of the Comoros
• Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008.
• Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq

References

External links

• News and background information on Sambi Africa Intelligence.com