BY JOYCE JOHNSON

The late prime minister of Cote d’Ivoire and the ruling party’s pick to run for the upcoming October 31 presidential election, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, was laid to rest today in Korhogo, his hometown in the nation’s northern region.

The burial proper happened in private, but not without much-attended funeral prayers that crowned a week of national mourning in the nation’s largest city and economic hub, Abidjan. President Alassane Ouattara, along with a massive number of government officials and other segments of the Ivorian elite, attended the last rituals prior to the burial. The president of neighboring Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, who has close ties with the Ivorian head of state, was also in attendance.

Also: Ivorian Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibably dies at 61

Amadou Gon Coulibaly died of heart attack on July 8, just hours after getting suddenly ill during the weekly cabinet meeting. While his sudden death has devastated many in the country, including the leaders and rank-and-file of his party, his years-long cardiac problems—which required a heart surgery in 2012, and a long, two-month treatment in France from early May till July 2—was a concern for both his biological and political families.

Also: The late prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly mourned across the political spectrum

The sadness was all palpable on the faces of the Korhogo residents since the late prime minister body was flown to the town yesterday following several events honoring him. The funeral prayers, led by the leader of the Muslim community in Cote d’Ivoire, Cheïck Aima Mamadou Traoré, were said in the main mosque of the town, with hundreds of mourners in attendance. According to our source, all of the 60 ethnic groups that people Cote d’Ivoire were represented, each identifiable in its traditional attire. The late prime minister was buried in the family’s tomb in a private ceremony.

Also: Ruling party pays late Ivorian prime minister homage before his burial Friday

Several speakers, including another Muslim leader, Iman Ousmane Diakité, praised the late prime minister’s humility, his being a hard-working and much-loved son of the area where living conditions have improved significantly thanks to him.