Sarpong endeared himself to grassroots — NDC

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has stated that the late National Vice Chairman of the party, Samuel Sarpong’s humility endeared him to the grassroots as much as to national leaders.

He described Dr Sarpong as “calm, dependable, and meticulous, he was a leader who believed in service above self, a quality rooted in his background as a police officer.”

He stated this in a tribute read at the state funeral held for eight officials who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on August 6, 2025.

Mr Kwetey said the NDC had lost more than a leader, but also “a pillar of integrity, a strategist, and a unifier whose wisdom and courage were invaluable to our cause.”

Dr Sarpong’s demise, Mr Kwetey said, had left a deep void in the party’s collective struggle and in the hearts of all who knew him.

“Dr Samuel Sarpong’s legacy will forever be etched in the history of our great party and in the memory of the nation he served so faithfully.

His life reminds us that true leadership is measured not by titles held, but by the lives touched and the values upheld,” he said.

Career

Mr Kwetey said Dr Sarpong’s political career blossomed under the NDC when the late President John Evans Atta Mills appointed him Mayor of Kumasi in 2009.

Under President John Dramani Mahama, he was elevated to Ashanti Regional Minister in 2013 and later Central Regional Minister.

He also served as Managing Director of the State Housing Company and was the NDC’s Parliamentary Candidate for Nyiaeso in 2016,” he said.

He added that as a founder member of the NDC in the Ashanti Region, Mr Sarpong was instrumental in building the party’s office at Nyiaeso, stressing that “he treated all with respect, regardless of political affiliation, creed, or colour.”