‘Please tell the good Lord to give me strength’- Wife of late Mfantseman MP as her husband goes home

On November 28, 2020, 3:24 PM

The widow of the slain Member of Parliament for Mfantseman today(Saturday) put tears on the faces of thousands of mourners who gathered to bid farewell to the departed lawmaker.

In an emotional tribute to her husband, who was killed while returning from a campaign, the tearful Ophelia Hayford asked her dead husband to tell God to fortify her.

“Rest in the bosom of your maker. We know you’re smiling and praying with us. Please tell the good Lord to give me strength and grace in this difficult times,” she said in a homage that got many mourners in tears.

Tributes

Speaking of the love they shared, the former Police Officer, who replaces her husband as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mfantseman Parliamentary candidate said “I still picture you telling me ‘Adwoa, it is well.’ The bond we have is still strong. Diana, Prince and I and all the children are saying we love you very much. We are proud of you because you made us proud. My love sleep well.”

Mrs Hayford described her husband as a man full of smiles, who also had unconditional love.

“He is somebody who would inspire me to do greater things. I realise I have found the right person to be your husband and a father to my children. He was the love of my life, who did everything to protect the family.”

The Majority Chief Whip, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh read the tribute on behalf of Ghana’s Parliament.

He said the Mfansteman MP was one of the dedicated and diligent members in Parliament, who always put the interest of the country first.

“He had a very pleasant and charming smile which won the admiration of all who came into contact with him. His peaceful nature endeared all of us.”

The President’s tribute was read by the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, who said that the only befitting tribute will be for them to elect the widow, Ophelia Hayford to represent the constituency in the next Parliament.

VIPs funeral

President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and MPs who attended the sorrowful event were filled with grief as the late Mfansteman MP, Ekow Kwansah Hayford, laid in state.

The Mfansteman legislator was shot and killed on October 9, 2020, after his car was attacked by a gang suspected to be armed robbers at the Nkusukum Mankessim-Abeadze Duadze road in the Central Region.

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The final funeral rites, which took place at the Kessim School (AstroTurf) park, had almost those who matter in Parliament and the NPP in attendance.

Also, in attendance was the Assin Central MP Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen and other prominent persons.

His body was conveyed to the Mankessim cemetery for interment.

On Sunday, his family and other mourners will join members of the Methodist Church in Mankessim for a thanksgiving service.

He left behind a wife, Ophelia Mensah Hayford and six children.

The murder

The MP was returning from campaign duties when he was brutally murdered.

The legislator was in his vehicle with his driver and the constituency’s First Vice-Chairman when he was shot.

The robbers fired shots into the vehicle, bursting the tyres as the vehicle suddenly stopped after running into a ditch.

Two were left injured — one Patrick Asante, a KIA truck driver and Uncle Issah the late MP’s driver.

The robbers made away with all their valuables, including the MP’s Samsung galaxy 850 mobile phone.

Arrests

The police have so far arrested eight persons in connection to the robbery that caused the life of the Mfansteman MP.

The accused persons are Alhassan Abubakar, Naziru Fudailu Nash, popularly called SP, Alhassan Mahama Yahaya, Amadu Yakubu, Haruna Osumanu, Adam Alhassan, Fuseini Osuman and Fred Tetteh.