Wednesday 12 September 2018

Photos: Ahead of funeral, Ghanaians bid farewell to Kofi Annan

A steady stream of mourners on Tuesday paid their respects to the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan as he lay in state in the capital of his native Ghana.
Kofi Annan's body was flown back home to Ghana on Monday and he will be buried after a state funeral on Thursday (AFP Photo/CRISTINA ALDEHUELA)
The diplomat's body was flown back from Switzerland on Monday ahead of a state funeral and private burial in Accra on Thursday.
Nobel peace laureate Annan, who was the world body's first leader from sub-Saharan Africa, died on August 18 after a brief illness.
He was 80.
Draped in Ghana's red, green and gold flag, his coffin was guarded by senior military officers in ceremonial uniform at the Accra International Conference Centre. There were traditional dances and a choir sang hymns as the public filed past, taking their chance to say a proud farewell to one of the country's most famous sons.
The casket of the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations left Geneva on September 10 for the state funeral in Ghana, which will take place on 13 September.
Mourners from across the country gathered to pay their last respects to the late diplomat.
Some family members pictured wearing the black and red mourning robes typically worn during funeral rites.
Outside the conference centre where Kofi Annan's body was lying in state, an artist was painting a portrait of the former UN secretary general (AFP Photo/CRISTINA ALDEHUELA)
Soldiers carry the coffin of late Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Atta Annan on the tarmac of Kotoka International Airport in Accra on September 10, 2018. <br /><br />His body will remain at Accra Conference Center until the burial which will take place on Thursday, September 13 in Accra.<br />Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana in 1938. He died on August 18, 2018 in Switzerland after a short illness. He was 80. Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, serving from 1997 to 2006.
Soldiers from the Ghanaian military stand to attention as the plane carrying the remains of the late diplomat arrived on the tarmac of Kotoka International Airport.
Annan's widow Nane Maria Annan (4thL) standing with other family members as Annan's body is welcome and the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo.
A billboard in Accra announcing the celebration of life of Kofi Annan. Funerals are huge affairs in Ghana and are celebrated, particularly when the person has died in old age.
The former UN Secretary General is being given a state funeral on Thursday September 13. There will also be ceremonies at the UN building in New York and Geneva later in September.
Billboards featuring Kofi Annan are displayed at the entrance of Accra International Conference Center where Annan's coffin is lying in state.


Kofi Annan, Nobel Peace Prize winner & former UN Secretary-General has died.
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