Her outburst was genuine – Lawrence Tetteh defends Amissah-Arthur’s widow

Delivering a tribute at the final funeral rites of the late Veep in Accra, the former second lady expressed shock over the number of people who had shown her family love given the wonderful tributes dished out by the same people she claimed to have constantly vilified and maligned her husband when he was alive.

“Over the last few weeks, I have been amazed at the number of people who have come to show appreciation and I ask myself: ‘Is this Ghana?’ Are all these people in Ghana because of the maligning, the lies, the treachery, the wickedness, the mischievousness?

“I ask myself: Is this Ghana? I ask myself is this, my own husband, that you have come to say tribute to? And today, I ask the same question: Did people really know my husband? Did they take time to know him? The false accusations, the lies the maligning, did they know him? My dearest, me, your children, we know you.”

Mrs Amissah-Arthur’s subtle jab appeared to share the sentiments of those who felt Kwesi Amissah-Arthur was disregarded by a section of Ghanaians inevitably politicians despite his decade’s worth of service to the party.

Her tribute has since been met with mix reactions with many describing it as very harsh considering the occasion and the personalities who were in attendance to mourn the selfless statesman.

But countering the diverse reactions, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh has backed the words of Mrs Amissah-Arthur stating that the former second lady did not err in her tribute considering the contradictory attitude Ghanaians exhibit towards the living and the dead.

Justifying her heated posture, he noted that Ghanaians are fond of spewing lies and criticizing one another but in times of mourning the narrative takes a different turn.

Speaking after the funeral rites, the cleric admonished that it is important for citizens to appreciate and eulogize one another in their living state as equally as they do when one passes on in the society.

“In the culture of Ghana, people’s credibility, people’s testimony people’s hard won reputation are undermined because of this day and age of social media and radio but we should also come to that place where we can appreciate people and give them living testimonies while they are still alive.”

As a matter of fact, you can see the outburst of his wife this morning, and she was genuine. If you look at all the negatives that have been said about this man and now people are sitting back now giving tributes, it’s sad. We should learn to give people tribute while they are still alive,” he remarked.

The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana died on 29 June after collapsing during a workout session at the Airforce Gym. He was 67years old.

He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Accra following a memorial service at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Meanwhile, the government of Ghana has decided to re-name Moree Senior High School in the Central Region after the late former Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.