Remembrance mass to be held in honor of Rawlings
The family of late former President Jerry John Rawlings has announced that there will be a remembrance mass at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra in honor of the late president.
The party founded by the late Rawlings National Democratic Congress has also outlined a number of activities to mark the day.
It will be recalled that the former President passed on to eternity on November 12, making next week Friday exactly one year since his sudden demise.
The Remembrance Mass, according to a statement signed by a former aide to the late ex-President, Kobina Andoh Amoakwa, would commence at 9 a.m., with the dress code being white.
Although the public was invited to the ceremony, it said, seating would be on a first-come, first-served basis, as the Cathedral would host a limited number of congregants due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Similarly, a statement issued by the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC, at its meeting on October 26, 2021, resolved that the anniversary should be marked at all levels of the party.
“That 12th November, 2021 should be observed with various activities, including vigils and mass gatherings, with strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocol, to commemorate the event,” it said.
Commemorative speeches are expected to be made on the day to extol the virtues and principles of late Rawlings. His achievements as a statesman and his contribution as a revolutionary leader and founder of the NDC will also be highlighted.
His demise
Former President Jerry John Rawlings died from an unknown illness on November 12, 2020. He died at 73.
The former military strongman left behind his wife and former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawling and four children -– Zanetor, Amina, Asantewaa and Kimathi.
Rawlings burst onto the political scene in May 1979 after a failed coup attempt.
While he was on trial, on June 4, 1979, his peers–junior officers in the Ghana Armed Forces organised another coup that wrestled him from the powers that be.
He took the gun again to topple Dr Limann on December 31, 1981, forming the Provisional Defence Council (PNDC).
Rawlings governed the country as the Chairman of the PNDC for 11 years, before transitioning into a democratic leader when he won the 1992 and 1996 elections on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
READ: The Rawlings Timelines: The 66 events that defined J.J’s life
The final funeral rites for the late former president started on Sunday, January 24, 2021.
He was laid in state for two days, thus January 25 and 26, 2021, for the world to pay their last respect, and buried on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.