He had devoted many years to foster peace and reconciliation in Somalia and was widely respected by his people and by many in the international community.
Abdikadir Yahya Ali hails from Abdalla Sabdi sub-clan of Murusade, a branch of the main Hawiye clan.
On July 12, 2005, around 2 a.m., Yahya was shot and killed at his house by a group of roughly 10 assassins, wearing masks or scarves around their faces, used a ladder to scale the back wall of his compound.
Some of the men made their way to a second-floor bedroom and woke Yahya and his wife.
The Al-qaeda linked Shabaab group was alleged the killing of Yahya.