The former president of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, has died at the age of 73. He died Thursday morning at the Korle-Bu University Hospital in Accra, where he had been admitted a week earlier.
He came to global prominence in 1979 when, as an army lieutenant, he ousted General Frederick Akuffo as president in his first military coup d’état.
It was a failure: he was arrested, brought before a court-martial – a court in which he chose to defend himself alone and he was freed a few weeks later by a group of officers whose common dream was fighting a hierarchy they considered corrupt. Together, the following June, they overthrew Fred Akuffo’s regime for good.
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Jerry Rawlings quickly became leader and committed himself to returning the power to the civilians. The promise was kept: general elections were held and, three months later, Rawlings stepped down to make way for Hilla Limann, who had just been elected president. Jerry Rawlings was just over 30 years old and massively popular in Ghana. He orchestrated another coup two years later, citing corruption and weak leadership.
Despite the military takeovers, Rawlings oversaw Ghana’s transition to multi-party democracy and is often viewed as the man behind one of Africa’s most democratic nations.
He is survived by four children, one of whom is a lawmaker in Ghana’s parliament. His widowed wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, is a presidential candidate in the upcoming elections in Ghana in December.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
