Former Ghanaian leader Jerry John Rawlings was buried on Wednesday with full military honors after a state funeral attended by representatives of world leaders.
Rawlings, who died at the age of 73, held two decades in Ghana, first as military ruler and later as president-elect.
He was buried in a coffin draped in Ghana’s national colors of red, yellow, green and black, and an officer’s cap was placed on the head of the closed coffin with a glittering gilded sword.
Rawlings, a former air force pilot, received a guard of honor in Independence Square – a symbol of Ghana’s victory over colonial Britain – in the capital Accra.
Hundreds of Ghanaians paid their last respects earlier this week when his coffin was laid in the state during two days of national mourning under strict COVID-19 protocols.
“You were proud of your fatherly duties … you are passionate and candid,” his widow Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings said in a tribute.
“Your gift to share knew no bounds. You never hesitated to help laws protect the defenseless in society. Jerry, I know God created us for each other. Said and broke down in tears when her daughter Princess Amina reads her tribute.
Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, described Rawlings as a “charismatic and fearless leader.”
Papa J, as Rawlings was known, was buried in a military cemetery in Accra after a three-hour ceremony of tributes, prayers, cultural exhibitions and songs.
Behind the scenes, Rawlings’ family, traditional chiefs and political figures were at odds with the legacy of the former air force lieutenant, who overthrew governments twice but was widely seen by the poor as their champion.
Rawlings got his first taste in 1979 when he, along with other junior officers, was frustrated by the widespread corruption to take control.
He quickly handed over the reins to an elected president, but was soon at the top again after a new coup on 31 December 1981.
He was the son of a Scottish father and a Ghanaian mother. He became a national icon when he headed Ghana for 20 years until 2001, when he was elected president at the ballot box in 1992 and ushered in democracy.
str-joa / pma / tgb