Kofi Anan
Kofi Annan for State burial in Accra on Thursday
Remains of former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan will be buried on Thursday, September 13 in Accra Ghana at a high-brow state service burial.
His body arrived Ghana late Monday from Switzerland where he passed away late last month.
According to the information transmitted to the Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja through its High Commission in
Accra, Ghana, there would be a private burial at the Military Cemetery with full military honours and 17-gun salutes.
Information from High Commission in Accra, Ghana marked the under-listed programme of activities for the State Burial of late Annan:
“a) Monday, 10th September, 2018 at 1600 hours: Arrival of the remains at the Jubilee Lounge, Kotoba International Airport (KIA), Accra;
“b) Tuesday, 11th September, 2018, from 1000 to 1600 hours: Filing past by the general public at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC);
“c) Wednesday, 12th September, 2018, from 1000 to 1600 hours: Filing past by government officials of Ghana, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, other dignitaries and traditional leaders;
“d) Thursday, 13th September, 2018, from 0730 to 0830 hours: Filing past by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and visiting Heads of State, to be
followed by: A funeral service at the Accra International Conference Centre, 0900 to 1100 hours and a private burial at the Military Cemetery with full military honours and 17-gun salutes.”
Flight bearing his body landed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in the company of his wife Nane Maria Annan, children and staff from the UN.
The casket holding the remains of the late Nobel peace laureate was received by a contingent of the Ghana Armed Forces who quickly replaced the UN flag in which the coffin was draped with Ghana’s national flag.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo received the widow and her children, while religious leaders performed a brief ceremony with prayers while the military band played solemn tunes in the background.
The body was then moved to the Accra International Conference Center where it will lie in state for three days with an elaborate funeral arrangement by the government and people of Ghana.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, minister-designate for information, announced earlier on Monday that at least 20 heads of state were expected to participate in the official funeral ceremony on Thursday, including Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.