Kofi Annan to be given state burial on September 13

Former United Nations Secretary General, Busumuru Kofi Annan will be given a state burial on September 13, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo suggested the date Friday at the Jubilee House and was readily accepted by the family led by Mr Isaac Hopper.

Mr. Hooper led a seven member family delegation of the international icon and diplomat, Mr Kofi Annan to call on the President to officially inform him about his passing on August 18, 2018 in Switzerland.

The President said the demise of Mr Kofi Annan was a sad development because he was one of the most illustrious citizens of this generation, international diplomat, and civil servant of a very high repute who occupied one of the most prestigious positions in the world.

The late Busumuru Kofi Annan

He said his name has brought honour to Ghana and his departure led to sadness for Ghanaians and he personally, because he had known Kofi Annan since childhood as an elder brother with whom he had maintained friendship.

The President said Kofi Annan offered him a lot of counsel on how he should conduct himself on some sensitive issues and that his death was a big blow to him.

The President said that a man of Mr Kofi Annan’s stature should be given full honours and was happy that the family had accepted the state’s proposal.

Read also: Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General dies: Tributes mourn 'great leader'

He said it would be a major event for the country because a lot of world leaders have called him on phone to express their condolences and believed that most of them would come for the funeral.

President Akufo-Addo said there was going to be a committee aside the state protocol team to organise the funeral and that Ambassador Annan Cato’s name had been suggested to head the meeting and that if accepted, the rest of the team would be organised.

The President suggested that Burma Camp had created a cemetery with a portion created for VIPs where former Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and J.H. Mensah were buried and that might be the place for Kofi Annan’s burial.

Family
Mr Hooper said Kofi Annan was for the country and that if the state has decided to take over and organise the funeral on September 13, 2018, the family will support it and help to ensure a successfull funeral.