Remains of Kofi Annan leaves Geneva for Accra

A United Nations (UN) plane carrying the remains of the former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Busumuru Kofi Annan has set off from Geneva, Switzerland to Accra.

The casket, draped in a UN flag, is accompanied by his wife, children and some UN officials.

The body of the global icon will be received at a brief ceremony to be led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Kotoka International Airport.

Kofi Annan died at age 80 in Bern, Switzerland, on Saturday, August 18, surrounded by his wife, Nane Maria, and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina.

He was reported to have fallen ill on his return trip from South Africa after he had attended the centenary celebration of the birth of a former South African President, Nelson Mandela.

He was hospitalised in Geneva and later airlifted to the Swiss capital, Bern, where he died peacefully.

Annan will be accorded a state burial and his body interred at the new Military Cemetery in Accra on September 13, 2018 after burial service at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Wednesday, September 12.

An outline of the programme issued by a member of the Kofi Annan Funeral Planning Committee, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the Minister of Information designate, said the general public would be given the opportunity to file past the remains on Tuesday, September 11, 2018.

It said dignitaries, including chiefs, Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers of state, and members of the diplomatic corps would file past the body on Wednesday, September 12, 2018.

Read also: Kofi Annan’s body arrives today