Captain Mahama to be buried Friday - Family

The family of the slain soldier, Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, has announced that he would be buried on Friday, June 9.

Spokespersons for the family, Zakaria Sakara and WOII Ibrahim Samed, said the family would be meeting today and put final touches to plans as to how the funeral would be held.

According to the family spokespersons, three funerals would be held for the 32-year-old Captain – one in Accra, one in Bole, the paternal grandmother’s hometown in the Northern Region and the last one at Tumu, the paternal grandfather’s hometown in the Upper West Region.

This came to light when the Speaker of Parliament Prof Mike Oquaye led members of parliament to pay a visit to the Burma Camp home of the late Captain Mahama to commiserate with the bereaved family members.

The young military officer was lynched on Monday, May 29, by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in a most barbaric manner.

The family said that its plans for the burial and the funeral of their beloved son would be submitted to the military high command for approval.

The family demanded that the state build a monument in memory of the soldier, who lost his life in the line of duty, to serve as a constant reminder for Ghanaians to renounce instant justice or mob action which often leads to the killing of innocent people.

The speaker, who was obviously grieved by the incident, said parliament fully shares in the grief of the family that was why the house adjourned very early yesterday to enable members to come and commiserate with the family and also sign the book of condolence.

He said the deceased was the grandnephew of the former speaker of parliament, Joyce Bamford-Addo, and so parliament was affected and that it would play its part in the burial and funeral of the late soldier.

He said parliament will also push for the state to fully take the responsibility of looking after the widow and the children of the late soldier.

According to Mr Oquaye, the family must take pride in the late Captain Mahama for dying in the line of duty.

“We must all show our respect to this young soldier who died in pursuing a noble cause,” he said.

The majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the nation must discourage such acts of bestiality

He said the action by the youth of Denkyira-Obuasi was the worst form of inhuman act and should not be repeated anywhere in the country.

The minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, strongly called on the state to take care of the wife and the children of the slain soldier

He also praised the military high command for not carrying out any reprisal attacks in the town.

He appealed to the military to exercise patience as the law takes its course and never plan to ‘pay back.’

Present at the gathering were the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt Gen. Obed Boamah Akwa; Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery; Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu; General Overseer of Lighthouse Chapel – where the late soldier fellowshipped – Bishop Dag Heward-Mills and the father, Captain Adam Mahama (rtd) as well as the wife, Barbara Maham