Alhaji Mahama buried; Afoko, Agyapong "missing"
The remains of the late Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama, who died after he was doused with acid, were interred at Bolgatanga according to Islamic tradition, on Saturday.
Advertisement
The sad event turned out to be a symbolic show of solidarity between the two big parties in Ghana — the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The burial was done amid tight security, due to the circumstances surrounding his death.
Mahama's tragic death occurred on Thursday, May 21, 2015 after acid was poured on him by his assailants, while he was returning from his construction site last Wednesday night.
Afoko, Agyapong missing
The remains of the late Mahama were brought from the morgue of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital to his family house around 11:00am for some burial rites and prayers.
Pensive onlookers stood along the streets and watched in disbelief as the body was conveyed from the regional hospital to the family house, creating a heavy traffic in the municipality. It was a sorrowful spectacle as some onlookers and sympathisers broke down in tears.
Conspicuously missing at the burial rites were the National Chairman and General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Paul Afoko and Mr Kwabena Agyapong respectively, whose absence could have been the result of agitation by some NPP youth activists in the region, calling for their heads.
The death of Mr Mahama has been blamed on Mr Afoko and Mr Agyapong because of a disagreement between the two national executives and the Upper East Chairman over a disrupted meeting, which Mr Mahama later apologised for.
Other Trending Stories
The flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, led a delegation of party bigwigs to the burial ceremony.
Some of the NPP stalwarts included: Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekorful, MP for Ablekuma Central; Otiko Djaba, National Women’s Organiser; Joe Ghartey, Second Deputy Speaker; Boniface Agambila, MP for Nabdam; Sammy Awuku, National Youth Organiser; John Boadu, National Organiser; and Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin North.
The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Nashiru Issahaku was also present.
Akufo-Addo’s arrival
At about 12 noon, Nana Akufo-Addo and his delegation arrived at the Mahama family house to join the bereaved family for the rites. However, the security detail at the event had a hectic time controlling placard-bearing members of a group within the NPP known as the Dazota Youth, who were passionately calling for the resignation of Messrs Afoko and Agyapong.
The group followed the convoy that carried the body of the late Mahama from the regional hospital to his family house. The atmosphere was emotionally charged but the security personnel eventually managed to control the crowd for the ceremony to be held.
Hundreds of NPP supporters and sympathisers across the length and breadth of the country thronged the municipality to witness the burial.
NDC delegation
There were some representatives from the ruling NDC, including its regional party executives, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Mahama Ayariga; the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr James Tiigah and his deputy, Mr Daniel Syme.
The rest were: The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana; the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Edward Ayagle and the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Issaku Bukari.
Burial procession
At about 12:30 pm, the body of the late Mahama was sent to the Ramsey Sports Stadium, popularly called Saint John's Park, for further Islamic prayers.
Occasionally, security personnel had to form a ring around the convoy carrying the body as teeming supporters of the party, friends and family members, some of whom were weeping uncontrollably, ran alongside the convoy and struggled to either take pictures or catch a glimpse of the coffin that was wrapped in a beautifully designed prayer mat also known as Sajada.
At exactly 12:47 pm, the convoy carried his mortal remains for burial at Yikene, a suburb of Bolgatanga and by 1:30pm he was finally laid to rest. No one except Nana Akufo-Addo was, however, allowed to go close to the graveside to take pictures.
Eschew political violence
Addressing the bereaved family and NPP supporters after the burial, Nana Akufo-Addo reminded the NPP and other political parties of the need to avoid violence in the country's body politic because democracy had no room for intolerance.
Advertisement
"Let us use this sad day to remind ourselves of the fact that politics is about the competition of ideas and should be devoid of violence,“ he stressed.
He observed that political violence had the tendency of frightening away people who had good ideas that would accelerate the development of the country.
"We should all stand together and ensure that whatever differences we have we try to understand each other; we are not robots but human beings and so certainly there would be disagreements and so we should try to find ways of resolving them.
"What happened on May 21, 2015 has taken us back; we do not want to go back, we want to go forward,” he stated.
Advertisement
Minority Leader
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, described the late Mahama as an "embodiment of courage, boldness, and forthrightness," adding that it was unfortunate that he had to sacrifice his life in that manner.
He also described him as a man of "tremendous magnetising influence for the party in the region. I must say that the tears of the family would not be enough to ferry him to wherever he is going," he noted.
Call for Justice
A representative of the bereaved family, Mr Rockson Bukari, called on the leadership of the party to ensure that the security services brought the perpetrators to book.
"The security has arrested somebody and it is known to be a relative of somebody and so the security should get to the bottom of the matter," Mr Bukari, who was a former Municipal Chief Executive of Bolgatanga in the Kufuor administration, pointed out.
Advertisement
He also entreated the leadership of the party to ensure that those who wanted to disorganise and divide the rank and file of the party were flushed out because they "are opportunists who stood against the progress of the party".
"God will certainly receive Adams and NPP will continue from where Adams left off because he stood for the truth but his detractors will not allow him to be, “he lamented.
Tears
The Volta Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr John Amewu, could not hold back his tears as he delivered his tribute on behalf of the other regional chairmen of the party.
Mr Amewu did not finish his tribute before many sympathisers, especially those who sat near him started weeping uncontrollably.
The leadership of the NPP later presented GHc3,000 to support the bereaved family to carry out the rest of the funeral activities.
The late Mahama is survived by a wife and four children.
The final funeral rites, known as the Adua of the late chairman, will be held on June 7, 2015.