Ghana's president, John Evans Atta Mills, died suddenly, at aged 68 July 24, 2012. No president has ever died in office in the history of Ghana, which gained independence from Britain in 1957. The funeral was a three day event.
MPs were summoned to Ghana's parliament house to swear in John Dramani Mahama, the former vice president, and given reassurances that the death of Mills would not spark a constitutional crisis. Mills was preparing to seek a second term in elections due in December.
The route for the funeral procession taking his body to Independence Square came right past the temple grounds which is on Independence Ave. We got a couple pictures out our office window. We augmented them with pictures from various websites to give you a perspective of this event.
Ghanaians from all walks of life, many dressed in the traditional black and red of mourning, thronged Independence Square in Accra to witness the ceremony, in a show of national unity. This was a very emotional time for a people who love their country and often express gratitude that they are such a peaceful country in the area, and have a stable government.
Visiting foreign dignitaries to include U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Ghana for the funeral. The late president's body was laid in state for public viewing Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday was declared a National Holiday which allowed Ghanaians to gather at Independence Square for the funeral.
Our Church Office Building was closed down on Thursday and Friday because of the funeral. We watched the proceedings on local TV. It was very interesting to us that they were not at all hesitant to make this a very Christain event. This is typical of Ghana. They are not ashamed of their deep and firm belief in Christ. The Church sent a letter of condolences to Mrs. Mills which was delivered in person by Elder Sitati and Elder Yirenya-Tawiah. The Area Presidency received invitations to the funeral. Elders Dickson and Sitati went, accompanied by Area Seventies Elder Mensah and Elder Yirenya-Tawiah. Elder Dickson told us they were there seven hours!
Below is a beautiful book about the life of President Mills’ life captured in pictures. What we were especially impressed with was the message on page one of the book.
Wow! That's an amazing message to put in a political leader's book. In George W. Bush's book "Decision Points" he talks about his faith, but it's not as much of a testimony at this man's.
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