US News Ghana kicks off state funeral for former President Jerry Rawlings

© ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP / Getty Images The tribute ceremonies for former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings began this Sunday, January 24 in Accra. (illustrative image)

Three months after the death of former President Jerry Rawlings on November 12, 2020 in Accra, his funeral rites finally began on Sunday January 24 in the Ghanaian capital.

With our correspondent in Accra, Marine Jeannin

It was an inaugural mass that opened the state funeral of Jerry Rawlings this Sunday afternoon. The family of the deceased were in the front row, along with President Nana Akufo-Addo and opposition party leader John Mahama, to attend the sermon delivered by the Archbishop of Cape Coast.

Biden surrounds himself with Obama-era diplomats to "fix" American foreign policy

© ALEX WONG Wendy Sherman during his 2011 House of Representatives hearing President-elect Joe Biden finalized the composition of its diplomatic team, which will include many alumni of the Obama era, with the marked desire to break with Donald Trump's unilateralism and "fix" American foreign policy.

As Ghana prepares for the funeral of former president Jerry Rawlings , the two main political parties are squabbling over his legacy. Rawlings held sway for two decades, first as military ruler and later as elected president . He died in November at the age of 73 and his funeral was initially scheduled for

Kick off ! In a tribute to Jerry Rawlings , Ghana 's president , Nana Akufo-Addo, said, "A great tree has fallen, and Ghana is poorer for this loss." "The most remarkable thing that Ghanaians will remember Jerry Rawlings for is that he handed over power to a civilian moreover from the opposition

A wake was then held at the end of the day at the Air Force Officers' Mess. Jerry Rawlings was indeed an aviation pilot before taking power in 1981.

► To read also: Death of Jerry Rawlings: the itinerary of a revolutionary captain

Official tributes will take place Monday and Tuesday in the capital . Members of the government will follow one another in the Burning Chapel for a final tribute to the former head of state. Some slots will also be open to the public.

Traditional Anlo chiefs, where Rawlings came from, this week requested the repatriation of the remains to their region in the east of the country. They hoped to bury the former president there according to their own funeral rites. Their request will not be granted. The funeral ceremony will take place on Wednesday at Independence Square, and Jerry Rawlings will be laid to rest in the Accra military cemetery, like previous Ghanaian heads of state.

► To listen: Ghana: Jerry Rawlings, the putschist and Ghana: Jerry Rawlings, the failure of the revolution