Kofi Annan to be laid to rest on September 13
The Kofi Annan Funeral Committee has announced that the late former Secretary-General would be buried on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at the new military cemetery at Burma Camp.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, at a News conference in Accra on Wednesday, said the date was fixed in consultation with the family of the deceased.
He said the remains of the late Mr Annan would arrive at the Kotoka International Airport on Monday, September 10, at 1600 hours accompanied by his wife, children and some United Nations officials.
It would be received with a brief ceremony led by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the President of the Republic before it is moved to the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said on Tuesday, September 11, the body would be laid in state at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) for the public to file pass between 1000 hours and 1600 hours.
He said On Wednesday, September 12, there would be filing pass and paying of last respect by dignitaries, including recognised groups, chiefs, Ministers of state and members of parliament, adding that a detailed time allotted for each would be made available subsequently.
He said Thursday, September 13, 2018 would be the burial service and interment of the late former Secretary-General, commencing at 0900 hours at the AICC and would be attended by UN officials, several heads of state, diplomatic delegations and the Ghanaian general public.
This he said would be followed by a private burial service at midday at the new military cemetery with full military honours and a 17 gun salute.
The Information Minister said Mr Annan while alive requested for a simple solemn final set of activities and the state in trying to give him a befitting burial will honour his last wish.
Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
He was born in April 8, 1938, in Ghana precisely in the Ashanti Region, Kumasi.
He died on August 18, 2018, in Bern, Switzerland at age 80.
Source: GNA