President Akufo-Addo consoling COP Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, wife of the late General
President Akufo-Addo has visited the residence of the late Major General Francis Vib-Sanziri to commiserate with the bereaved family.
The late military officer died on Friday, April 19, at Eilat in Israel where he served as the Head of Missions and Force Commander of the United Nations (UN) Disengagement Observer Force at the controversial Golan Heights.
Many people wept uncontrollably when the President arrived at Michel Camp residence to mourn the death of the military officer with the family.
Wife of the deceased, Commissioner of Police (COP) Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, who is the Director General in charge of Welfare and his elder brother, could not hold back their tears, as the President led a delegation made up of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministers to the residence.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Obed Akwa; Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu and commanding officers of the Army, Air and Naval staff of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) also accompanied the President.
He described late soldier’s dramatic and unexpected death as a big blow to the country, stating that “such happenings call for renewed faith in the Almighty because it’s He who disposes, and it’s He who understands what we ordinary mortals cannot.”
Major General Vib-Sanziri, 62, was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in October 2017 to head the multinational force.
President Akufo-Addo, who recounted his involvement in the deployment of the deceased to Israel, said “ever since he (Maj. Gen. Vib-Sanziri) went on that mission, all the reports that have come to me from Israel from our own military and from the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations spoke of a fine gentleman, who has discharged his duties well…he was a credit to our nation.”
“The nation of Ghana stands in mourning with you. He was a public officer, a military officer of our state and his assignment was a public one being done to the benefit of the Ghanaian Republic…So in his passing, we are all involved in it, and my presence here is to let you know that you have the entire solidarity of the nation with you,” he told the family.
He reiterated the commitment of government to give the late Major General Vib-Sanziri a befitting burial, saying, “He deserves it for the work he did for our country; he deserves it as a good citizen.”
“I extend to you our deepest condolences on the death of this fine soldier and to let you know that all of us are in full solidarity in this moment and in the preparations that would be made to give him a befitting send off,” he said.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent