Scores converge on Rawlings’ residence
Scores of people, including family members, friends, former ministers of state and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party faithful thronged the Ridge residence of former President Jerry John Rawlings, affectionately called Papa J, to confirm his death and also commiserate with the family.
People from communities near the residence also besieged the house to catch a glimpse of happenings and confirm the shocking news.
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As some, especially women, were seen wailing over the death of the former President, others were in a pensive mood, with the rest expressing disbelief.
The last stop for journalists who rushed to the residence to report the incident was at the entrance, where they were left with the sole choice of conducting ‘exit’ interviews with the dignitaries who had the opportunity to visit the family inside the residence.
Security
At the entrance, however, security personnel did not allow vehicles to enter the compound.
Most of them were made to park on the compound opposite the residence and walk in.
The situation compelled some party faithful to sit on the lawns at the entrance, in grief and pain.
By 3:10 p.m. a bus full of military personnel and two police vehicles had arrived at the residence to provide extra security, control vehicular movement and the crowd.
Present at the residence was the Head of Police Operations of the Accra Region, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwesi Ofori, and others.
Personalities
Some of the personalities who visited the residence were International Evangelist, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh; boxing legend, Professor Azumah Nelson; a former Minister of Health, Mr Samuel Nuamah-Donkoh; a former Minister of Education, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah; businessman, Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome; a former Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Ativor; a former Minister of Defence, Dr Ben Kumbour; a former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, and a former Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah.
Interviews
In separate interviews, some of the personalities hailed the late President for returning the country to constitutional rule in 1992, thereby making Ghana a role model of democracy on the continent.
Among others, they said they believed the late President was someone who had a positive impact not only on the country but other countries in Africa through his role in resolving conflicts and bringing about peace, home and abroad.
Mr Nuamah-Donkor said Flt Lt Rawlings was instrumental in bringing some of them on board during his administration right from 1979.
He said he was a great personality that would surely be missed by Ghanaians and the rest of the world as a result of his statesmanship.
Celebration
Mr Ricketts-Hagan told journalists that a tribute to the former President would be to revisit his principles of probity and accountability, among other things.
Mrs Ativor described the former President as a pillar of the NDC, especially for those from the Volta Region.
“He gave us hope and we are going to miss him,” she said.
For his part, Rev. Dr Tetteh said growing up, the former President was a person most people looked up to as a result of his down-to-earth personality.
“So we want to pray that his soul rests in peace. But what I want to say is that we should use this time to remember that political power and every power are transient. We all recall the days President Rawlings was so powerful a man, today he is of blessed memory,” he said, and that “we should all remember that there is a time span for everybody”.
Mr Quansah, who recalled the days he began with the late President from 1987, noted that the democracy the country was currently enjoying was the baby of the late President.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Korle Klottey, Mr Prince Appiah Debrah, who said he had to suspend his campaign after hearing news of Rawlings’ death, indicated that the late President had served the country and that he was at the residence to commiserate with the family.
A 78-year-old woman who gave her name as Maa Polley, said she had to visit the residence of the late President to see things for herself, since she was shocked at the news of his death.
She said Rawlings was a great personality who needed to be celebrated in Ghana and beyond because of the positive impact he made on society.
An NDC party faithful, Mr Edward Atsu Dela Seshie, said Mr Rawlings would be greatly missed by Ghanaians because of his charismatic nature.
Mr Woyome summed up his statement on the former President by saying, “he has lived a life of pragmatism”.
“He’s an epitome of this,” he said.
Parliament
In a tribute, Parliament expressed its condolence to the wife, Mrs Rawlings, and family of the former President for the loss.
Describing Mr Rawlings as a great statesman who devotedly spoke against corruption in all its forms, the Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, the Majority and Minority, in a statement said the contribution of the former President to Ghana's current democratic dispensation could not be glossed over.
“The passing of Mr Rawlings is a monumental loss," the statement said.