Guinea Bissau former interim president laid to rest
by ARNALDO VIEIRAIn Summary
- His body arrived in the country on Friday, two months after he died, due to the lockdown in both Portugal and Guinea Bissau as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guinea Bissau’s former interim President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo was buried at his family vault in Bissau’s military quarter on Saturday.
He died in Portugal’s capital Lisbon on March 17 at the age of 61.
His body arrived in the country on Friday, two months after he died, due to the lockdown in both Portugal and Guinea Bissau as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo attended the funeral in parliament and his office later announced that Mr Nhamadjo was posthumously awarded the Amilicar Cabral medal, the country’s highest distinction.
Parliament Speaker Cipriano Cassamá, former head of state José Mário Vaz and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam also attended the ceremony.
Mr Nhamadjo was a member of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
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He led the West African country during a political transition after the 2012 coup d’état until the 2014 presidential polls.
Mr Nhamadjo had also served as the first deputy Speaker of the country’s Parliament.