Ghana will henceforth mark January 7 every year as constitution day in honour of late former President Jerry John Rawlings who led the establishment of the country’s fourth republic in 1993.
Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo announced this as the body of late leader was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Accra with full honours.
The state funeral rites for the iconic leader which began on Sunday were rounded off with an open air burial service at the famous black star square in Accra.
Large numbers of Ghanaians, foreign dignitaries, members of the diplomatic community, traditional rulers and men and women of the armed forces thronged the expansive ceremonial arena to pay their last respects to the man regarded as a legend and architect of Ghana’s modern political history .
The four-day long rites of passage were like no other due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mourners observed strict covd-19 protocols.
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The solemn but impressive ceremony saw a harvest of tributes, out pouring of emotions by family members, government officials, political associates and his colleagues in the armed forces. There were also prayers, cultural displays and a street parade of the coffin, wraped in the national flag, as his body was conveyed to its final resting place at the military cemetery.
Rawlings who ruled Ghana as a military leader and a democratically elected president for almost two decades, died November 12, 2020 at the age of 73.
Speaker after speaker eulogised the man who started out as a dictator but ended as a democrat.
A delegation of friends of Rawlings from Nigeria, led by former foreign affairs minister, Tom Ikimi, attended the state burial service. They described him as one of Africa’s most influential leaders who successfully broke with political convention.
Jerry John Rawlings, who was also known as “Junior Jesus”, first came to power through a Military Coup on June 4, 1979, while awaiting execution for a failed coup just the previous month. He went on to restore democratic rule in Ghana by January 1993, becoming the first president of Ghana’s fourth republic after resigning from the military in 1992 and founding the National Democratic Congress, NDC.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
