Ex-Ghana President Rawlings dies of COVID-19

Former Ghana’s President, Jerry John Rawlings, has died of complications related coronavirus.

GhanaWeb quoting state-owned Daily Graphic, said Rawlings passed on Thursday, November 12, 2020, after a brief illness at the age of 73.

According to the source, the former president had been on admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, for about a week for an undisclosed ailment.

Rawlings recently lost and buried his mother last month.

He was born in Accra on 22nd June, 1947, to a Ghanaian mother from Dzelukope, near Keta, in the Volta Region, and a Scottish father.

He was a military leader in Ghana and later became a politician who ruled the country from 1981 to 2000.

 

On May 28, 1979, Flt.-Lt. Rawlings, together with six others, appeared before a General Court Martial in Accra, charged with leading a mutiny of junior officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces on 15th May, 1979.

There was a strong public reaction, especially after his statement had been read in court, explaining the social injustices that prompted him to act.

The ranks of the armed forces expressed deep sympathy with his stated aims.

When he was scheduled for another court appearance on 4th June, 1979, Flt.-Lt. Rawlings was sprung from custody.

With the support of both military and civilians, he led a revolt, which decisively ousted the Supreme Military Council from office and brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

The AFRC under Rawlings carried out a “house-cleaning exercise” aimed at purging the Armed Forces and society of corruption and graft as well as restoring the principles of accountability in public life.

On 24th September 1979, the AFRC handed over to the civilian Government of the People’s National Party (PNP) under President Hilla Limann.

On 31st December 1981, Rawlings led a section of the armed forces to overthrow the PNP administration. A Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), composed of both civilian and military members, was established, with Rawlings as the chairman.

He formed the National Democratic Congress, which contested and won the 1992 presidential and parliamentary elections. He and the party again won the 1996 elections.

His term of office ended in 2000.

He is the joint recipient of the 1993 World Hunger Prize.