No man is an iland, intire of itself; every man is a peece of the continent, a part ofthe maine…any mans death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”
It was a tragic day for us, that Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings who did notdemonstrate the slightest hint of sickness was gone in a flash.
We cannot be counted among the friends (the amicis or amicae) of Nana but wewere not cynical of her either. She was quite sizeable, but these times (2025) shehad grown a bit slimmer but we did not suspect anything, even though wesuspected her to be asthmatic.
She must have been a woman of destiny. Born to J. O. T. Agyamang, in November1948, Nana Konadu was taken to Ghana International School and Achimota School. Being a fashion – conscious, she went to study art and textiles at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). She had met Rawlings of Achimota and in 1977 they got married, the marriage yielding Zanetor(now Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey), Kimathi, Amina and Yaa Asantewaa Rawlings.
When Rawlings struck in 1979, she became the First Lady for a short while. Then when Rawlings struck again in 1981, she became the FirstLady again and when Rawlings metamorphosed into a civilian head of state in1982, she became the First Lady once more, thus being the First Lady for morethan 44 years Being the Margaret Thatcher of Ghana she used her position to tourthe whole country learning the tit bits of nearly every village of the country. Herattachment to her husband and her support must have given Rawlings the fillip to
do most of the things he did.
Of course, she got enmeshed in the rough times of the AFRC particularly over themurders of the Judges but the Special Investigations Board had soft words for her(and her husband): ” (25) In spite of the evidence that the Chairman of the PNDCFlt. Lt. Rawlings, was a close associate of L/CplAmedeka; and again, in spite of theclear evidence that the Fiat Compagnola Jeep, which was used in the kidnapping,
was collected from the house of Mrs. Agyemang Rawlings, there is no evidencefrom which the inference can be drawn that both the Chairman and his wife hadfore-knowledge of the kidnapping and the murders”.
Nana Konadu was the pacesetter in the establishment of the grassroots of the 31stDecember Women’s Movement. For this 1982 organization, Nana Konadu says“My desire is to see the emancipation of women at every level of development…”
This was long before Beijing Conference, the Fourth Conference on Women heldin Beijing, China in 1995 after Mexico City (1995), Copenhagen (1980), and Nairobi(1985). The Beijing Conference set the Beijing “Declaration and Platform forAction” identifying 12 critical areas: women and poverty, education, health,protection against gender-based violence, a focus on the girl-child…and played acritical role in “galvanizing and strengthening a global feminist movement”.
Be bold”. Nana Konadu was a movement by herself: she pioneered the role ofFirst Ladies in Africa and the world at large. Not just a ceremonial role, but aplatform for purpose and progress. She urged women to “be bold”. How canGhana’s history be written without a space for Nana Konadu? Building day carecenters (especially in the market places) gari factories, encouraging women to“challenge” men in all activities, politics not excluded.
Lawyers, Judges and people with judicial interests in Ghana cannot forget theIntestate Succession law of Ghana (PNDC Law 111) 1985 which recognizedwomen’s right and entitlements to property in a marriage. She once noted“Before December 31, 1981, they (women) had no power of influence in law andpolitics… I can see from the self-esteem and near arrogance of the women thatnow we’ve actually been able to break through this thick wall…”(Some of us in oursixties and above remember how our mothers were treated when their husbandsdied. The Abusuapanin of the man’s family especially in Ashanti would sack thewife of the dead man from the dead man’s self-acquired house and lock all the
doors…now PNDC Law 111 makes provision of one house (if it is only one) for themarried woman and her children upon the death of the man.
On 13th April 2011, Nana Konadu who had been the First Vice President of theNational Democratic Congress, a party her husband formed in 1992 resigned herposition to contest the Presidential primaries against Prof. Atta Mills: “… Ihave…resigned as the Vice President of the National Democratic Congress. Thiswill enable me to respond to numerous calls on me to contest the flagbearer shipof the NDC when nominations are opened”. At the Sunyani Congress she won3.1% of the votes. What? Who born dog? Her husband might have said.
Presto, Nana resigned from the NDC and in October 2012 formed her own party.National Democratic Party (NDP) becoming the party’s flagbearer with Dr. JosephAryeh as the National Chairman. In the 2020 elections, she became a flagbearer ofthe NDP and began fraternising with the NPP, to the extent that Lawyer Amanlibawill say: “She taught us to hate the NPP but flirted with the NPP later!” Anita DeSosoo (the red beret) and the former NDC National Vice Chairman opines that.
“Anyone who dares insult the late Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings will not betolerated Her life-long service touched countless lives” Ei? What will Anita do tothose who “insult” Nana Konadu? So, Lawyer Anokye Frimpong says: “NanaKonadu Agyemang Rawlings does not deserve state burial…”. What do you do tohim?
Lawyer Anokye Frimpong says Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings benefitted fromstate assets including the sale of Nsawam Cannery to Caridem, a Companybelonging to Nana Konadu while other private citizens assets were seized (thecase of Divesture Implementation Committee). Lawyer Anokye Frimpong isstating facts and not insulting? What about “She (Nana Konadu) wanted toperpetuate the dynasty of Rawlings, her husband”? who will forget the famous speech of Marcus Antonius speech in Julius Caesar?
If we were to be the MC for the funeral of Nana Konadu, we would refer to Marcus Antonius’s speech with the necessary changes (mutatis mutandis) “Friends, Ghanaians, Countrymen and Country women; lend us your ears. We come to bury Nana Konadu, not to praise her. The evil that women do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones…” At the mention of “bones” somebody would “logo” us and throw us out of the funeral grounds, just as the poor woman who was singing dirges was thrown out of the Rawlings’s home.! The poor must learn how to mourn the rich who die.
And how can we end this piece without reference to the “quarrel” over Lumba’s burial, funeral, estate at the Kumasi High Court. As lawyers, we listened to the brilliant submissions of William Kusi, Osei-Owusu and their juniors but got enchanted by the Judge’s (Dorinda Smith Arthur) tolerance, brilliant ruling… but why should anyone, including lawyers’ resort to radio and social media to comment…?
Africanus Owusu-Ansah
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