Mahama consoles Konadu at Rawlings’s funeral

Former President John Dramani Mahama met former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings during the final funeral ceremony of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings at the Black Stars Square in Accra on Wednesday, January 27.

Mr Mahama has said the late former President Jerry John Rawlings strode onto Ghana’s political stage like a colossus and played many parts.

Mr said Rawlings’ part in the political drama has left an enduring legacy for our nation.

“Shocking and unexpected are words that both describe your dramatic entry onto the political scene of Ghana and also your silent exit from this world. It would take a whole book to write a tribute to a man whose life was so eventful; a man who has had a profound impact on several generations of Ghanaians,” Mr Mahama said in his tribute to the Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He added: “Your role in bringing peace and stability to ECOWAS Subregion, especially the Liberian and Sierra Leone civil wars, is acknowledged and celebrated. Your leadership in what was the most difficult decade in Ghana’s history led to important reforms that created the political stability and economic growth that we now consider absolutely normal.

“Your signature promulgating the 1992 Constitution gave birth the most enduring democratic Republic Ghana has experienced in its entire historical existence. Ghana has you to thank for this."

“The decentralised local government system based on the District Assembly concept is also a lasting legacy of your stewardship in Ghana’s political space."

“Your contribution to the African success story in collaboration with other progressive African leaders culminated in ending apartheid in South culminated in ending apartheid and swearing-in of Nelson Mandela as its first black president.”