Book celebrating life of Baffour Osei Akoto to be launched in Accra

A book celebrating the life and legacy of Late Baffour Osei Akoto is set to be launched in Accra on August 31, 2022, at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The event forms part of a week-long activities set aside to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the celebrated statesman, a cultural icon and astute politician, whose struggles and sacrifices led to the entrenchment of multi-party democracy in Ghana.

The book, titled "BAFFOUR OSEI AKOTO: A ROYAL PATRIOT AND THE MAKING OF GHANA" is a collection of speeches and articles made by famous speakers about the exploits of the late traditional icon, with particular reference to the Annual Re: Akoto & 7 others lectures organised by the Ghana Law School.

It is co-edited by a former Speaker of Parliament of Ghana and renowned lawyer, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye.

Other activities include a public lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), official launch of the Baffour Akoto Foundation and performance of a drama depicting his life at the Centre for National Culture, graveside commemoration and family gathering, as well as a memorial high mass at the St. Peter's Basilica Cathedral in Kumasi.

Dignitaries expected to grace the occasions include the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu, former and current Ministers of State, members of the clergy and people from all walks of life.

The Late Baffour Osei Akoto is seen as one of the crusaders of Ghana's multi-party democracy, having suffered six years in political prison under the Preventive Detention Act 1958.

His famous case; Re: Akoto & 7 others, is a landmark case which is observed every year by the Ghana Law School.

He was the founder of the National Liberation Movement (NLM), which together with other opposition parties metamorphosed into the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the party currently ruling the country.