A high-profile half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been shot dead by an aide in Kandahar.
He tried to give an air of being an ordinary man who lived a simple life with his family in Kandahar, who did the best he could in a difficult and dangerous land.
But see him in action and his power was palpable.
On my last visit in late April, his heavily secured compound was packed with turbaned tribesmen sitting cross-legged on the floor. They came to him from across the province with every possible problem - financial aid for a sick child; arbitrary arrests; Taliban threats.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has led mourners at the funeral of Ahmed Wali Karzai, his influential younger half-brother, who was assassinated on Tuesday afternoon in Kandahar by a member of his own security team.
Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday morning amid tight security outside the provincial governor's compound where Ahmed Wali's body was kept, with many piling on to waiting buses for the funeral procession to the family village of Karz, about 20 kilometres away.
Security forces formed a tight perimeter around the compound and helicopters could be seen circling overhead.
Reports suggested Karzai's elite security team had been deployed to secure the city for the funeral, that was postponed until Wednesday so family members could arrive.
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