Peter Ala Adjetey laid to rest

Frontpage, Saturday October 11, 2008
Story: Nehemia Owusu Achiaw & Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
HUNDREDS of Ghanaians besieged the forecourt of the State House in Accra yesterday to pay their last respects to one of the country’s most accomplished lawyers, the Rt Honourable Peter Ala Adjetey, who was also a former Speaker of Parliament.
In attendance at the state funeral was an impressive array of political, judicial, legislative and social leaders, including President J.A. Kufuor and his wife, Theresa; Vice-President Aliu Mahama; the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes; former President J.J. Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu, and the flag bearers of the various political parties.
Also present were Members of Parliament (MPs), members of the Diplomatic Corps, the clergy, executives of the various political parties, chiefs and queens from across the country and a cross-section of the people.
To honour the late former Speaker for his contribution to the growth of parliamentary democracy, the leadership of Parliament decided not to sit yesterday to give MPs ample time to mourn their departed former leader.
As early as 6.00 a.m. the casket bearing Mr Adjetey’s body arrived at the Speaker’s Block in Parliament, where it was received by Mr Sekyi Hughes; the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Freddie Blay; the Second Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Malik Yakubu Alhassan; the Majority Leader, Mr Abraham Ossei-Aidooh; the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin; a cross-section of MPs and members of the Parliamentary Service.
Brief religious rites were performed at the lobby of the block by Reverend Antonio Nelson of the La St Paul’s Anglican Church, where the late former Speaker worshipped, after which the casket was carried to the forecourt of the State House for the state burial service.
Before the arrival of President Kufuor, MPs, members of the Diplomatic Corps, family members and a cross-section of the people had filed past the body, amid singing by the Tema Youth Choir and the throbbing of traditional drums.
When he arrived, President Kufuor led a retinue of Ministers of State to file past the body to accord the former Speaker their last respects.
In a tribute read on his behalf by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, President Kufuor stated that the return to constitutional rule in 1992 saw another chapter in the life of the late former Speaker in which he represented the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in a number of constitutional cases before the Supreme Court, explaining that those cases contributed immensely to the development of constitutional rule in Ghana.
He mentioned the NPP vrs GBC case, in which the Supreme Court decided that the state-owned broadcasting corporation was obliged to give political parties equal opportunities to present their views on state-sponsored television, and the NPP vrs IGP case in which the Supreme Court gave clarity and further meaning to Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution on the right of freedom of assembly, including freedom to take part in processions and demonstrations, as some of Mr Adjetey’s contributions to constitutional democracy.
“We, as a nation, owe a debt of gratitude to all actors at this stage of the nation’s development and for the recognition of and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms that today we take for granted; a stage on which Peter Ala Adjetey once again stood tall,” he said.
He observed that Mr Adjetey’s transition from a politician to a statesman was seamless, as he was passionate and believed in the doctrine of separation of powers and the independence of Parliament.
President Kufuor added that it was in recognition of that that the late Speaker was awarded a well-deserved national honour — Order of the Star of Volta (Civil Division) Member — on July 3, 2008, explaining that “Peter Ala Adjetey lived a life worth celebrating and that is why we are gathered here today not to mourn the dead but to celebrate a life”.
The flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a tribute, recalled his association with Mr Adjetey and described him as a fearless lawyer and politician who was meticulous in all the fields in which he found himself.
He said he was very grateful for the support he received from Mr Adjetey to shape his political career, adding, “I have lost the guidance of a valued counsellor and committed politician. Ghana is poor for his loss but his legacy will live with us forever.”
Other tributes were read by Mr Freddie Blay, on behalf of Parliament, Mr Adjetey’s widow, children, grandchildren, the judiciary, the GBA, the NPP, the St Paul’s Anglican Church, the Rotary Club, the Accra Academy Old Boys Association, among others.
In a sermon, Right Reverend J.K. Dadson, a former Anglican Bishop of the Sunyani/Tamale Diocese, asked Ghanaians to strive to leave legacies that would enable present and future generations to remember them for the development of the country.
“Let us learn from the selfless life lead by Mr Adjetey and live in harmony with our opponents in order to forge a united front for the country’s development,” he advised.
The former Speaker was buried at the churchyard of the St Paul’s Anglican Church, La, Accra, after the state burial service.