The late former President Robert Mugabe
President Akufo-Addo last weekend dispatched a Jerry John Rawlings-led delegation to the funeral of the late former President Robert Mugabe in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The funeral which was attended by many serving African heads of state and former ones took place on Saturday.
The first wife of the first president of the Southern African country was a Ghanaian, the late, well-known nationalist, Sally Mugabe, neè Hayfron who was also buried in Harare when she died.
The couple had a son who died early in life.
The Ghanaian delegation included the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Charles Owiredu, a nephew of the late Sally Mugabe, Mr. Queesy Ninsin-Imbeah; and officials of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Robert Mugabe who died in a Singapore hospital, aged 95, was ousted from power by soldiers before he died.
His death has evoked mixed reactions among Zimbabweans and non-Zimbabweans alike. While some raise his attribute of founder of Zimbabwe – having fought a long bush war against white rule, others prefer to play his bloody clampdown on dissent – the Bulawayo massacre being a case in point.
Former President Rawlings in a tribute on behalf of the government of Ghana said “Ghanaians especially those familiar with Africa’s epic struggle for freedom, justice and dignity are greatly saddened by the irreplaceable loss of one of our continent’s most inspiring liberation fighters.”
The late Mugabe, he said was not only a popular and fearless liberation fighter, he was an impressive moral compass.
His burial place also triggered confusion as the family demanded that he be given a private interment in his village in opposition to the state preferred Heroes Square, where the remains of those who fought in the liberation war lie.
The Ghanaian delegation has returned.