Nana Konadu Passing: Fifi Kwetey Says Former First Lady Was Set to Rejoin NDC
- The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress says Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was set to rejoin the party
- Ghana's longest-serving first lady, who was married to former President JJ Rawlings, died on October 23
- She left the party she helped found in 2011 after tensions over a flagbearer contest for the 2012 election
The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Kwetey, said the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, was set to rejoin the ruling party after leaving in 2011.
Kwetey told the press that Agyeman-Rawlings was in advanced talks to return to the political formation her husband founded.
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Speaking after leading an NDC delegation to her residence on Monday, October 27, Kwetey disclosed that efforts to reconcile with Agyeman-Rawlings were nearing completion before her passing.
“I wouldn’t say the talks were unsuccessful. I would rather say that the timing was the challenge. Because even on her part, you could clearly see that she was ready."
"I am happy that during her time, these efforts started and she embraced them."
Agyeman-Rawlings' rift with the NDC started after she tried and failed in her bid to be its presidential candidate in 2011.
She then left the party to form the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 2012.
Although she was disqualified from that year’s general election, she later contested in 2016 on the NDP’s ticket, becoming the first woman in Ghana to run for President.
Agyeman-Rawlings died at Ridge Hospital in Accra on October 23 after an illness.
She was 76 years old. The Rawlings family appealed for privacy in their time of grief.
Agyeman-Rawlings' daughter, Zanetor, officially informed the presidency of the passing later on the day she died.
About Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings
Agyeman-Rawlings was born in Cape Coast in the Central Region on November 17, 1948.
She attended Ghana International School and later moved to the Achimota School, where she met her future husband.
She went on to study Art and Textiles at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.
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She was a student leader of her hall of residence, Africa Hall at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
In 1975, she earned an interior design diploma from the London College of Arts.
Her studies also took her to the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Johns Hopkins University and the Institute for Policy Studies in Baltimore, USA.
In her first term as First Lady, she set up the December 31st Women's Movement in 1982 to champion the emancipation of women.
NDC mourns the late Nana Konadu
When she died, YEN.com.gh reported that the NDC expressed deep sorrow following the death of Agyeman-Rawlings.
The party described her as a remarkable woman whose lifelong dedication to women’s empowerment left an indelible mark.
In a statement, the party praised her for her tireless work through the 31st December Women’s Movement.
However, some members of the party have still sought to assert the distance between the former first lady and the NDC.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
