Mrs Agyeman-Rawlings laid to rest

The mortal remains of former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, was laid to rest at the Military Cemetery in Accra on Friday, with thousands of people from far and near earlier converging on the historic Black Star Square in Accra to bid farewell to the nation’s longest serving First Lady.

Among the mourners were President John Dramani Mahama, Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, ministers of state, members of Parliament and well-wishers.

Also in attendance were traditional leaders, the clergy, eminent international dignitaries including the former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, Simone Gbagbo, the First Lady of Liberia, Kartumu Yarta Boakai, and diplomats amongst others.

Draped in the Ghana flag, the casket containing the remains of the former First Lady, considered the mother of the Fourth Republic, laid in the inner perimeters of the funeral ground and was surrounded by a grieving population depicting a sea of black and red in their attire.

Tribute after tribute, accompanied by dirges from the flute, the arena went silent to hear what may not have been known about the founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement, as the life of the 76-year-old was relived from childhood through her school days, her days of activism till her final days on earth.

Emotions swept through the splendour of the gathering when the children of the late Mrs Agyeman-Rawlings—Zanetor, Yaa Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi—joined by their children, stood in unity by the casket of the matriarch to pay their last respect.

In separate tributes, the children communicated the love, strength and leadership their late mother provided despite her busy schedules.

“To me, you were much more than a mother; you were my moral compass, my fashion icon, my anchor in turbulent times, my historian, and my dancing queen,” Zanetor, the first child of the Rawlingses, said.

Whilst Amina described the late former First Lady as “so daring… with an unsubdued spirit,” Amina said she was a patriot who loved her country dearly.

According to Kimathi, Nana Konadu was a trusted wife who won the trust of her late husband, former President Jerry John Rawlings, in the most turbulent times of the nation.

“She was far more than a right hand. She was strategic, clear-minded and unwavering. She and my father were, in truth, one another’s steadiness.”

In appreciating the contributions of the late Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings to the state Ghana, President John Dramani Mahama, in a tribute read on his behalf by his Special Aide, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, described the deceased as a towering national figure whose influence would live on forever.

President Mahama said Nana Konadu redefined the role of the First Lady and transformed it into a national platform for development, adding, “She was a pioneering leader, an unwavering champion of women’s empowerment, a trailblazer in our political landscape and a deeply committed patriot.”

“Her life story is one defined by boldness—boldness to speak, to challenge, to lead and to stand resolutely for what she believed was right for Ghana,” the President said.

In a sermon, the Most Rev Titus Awotwi Pratt, a former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, said the life lived by the late Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was worth emulating for national development.

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI

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