A four-day State funeral has been held in Accra for the late Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, a former President of Ghana. The former charismatic leader and the most prominent on the Ghanaian political scene after Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, died on the 12th November, 2020, after a short illness. This was just 3 weeks after burying his mother on the 24th October, 2020.

The four day funeral started with a Catholic requiem mass held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra on Sunday 24th January, 2021. The main celebrant for the mass, His Grace Archbishop Charles Palmer Buckle, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, noted that death was the most assured certainty we lived with, yet, when it occurred, it caused a lot of pain. He said that the demise of the charismatic leader was received with shock. Quoting from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, he said that there was a time and a season for everything and therefore, die we must.

He thanked God for the gift of an enigma of a personality like Rawlings and admonished all, especially his children, to live the ideals that President Rawlings espoused – accountability, probity and transparency.

Archbishop Buckle said that the former President, in his own way, hungered and thirsted for righteousness. He said that Rawlings fought for the poor and longed for the coming of the kingdom of heaven. He worked for justice to be established for the underprivileged and could not tolerate the slow pace at which this was coming to bear, nor could he suffer those who seemingly and deliberately, thwarted the manifestation of the kingdom of God.

He said that the history of Ghana can never be written without the mention of Jerry John Rawlings, who burst onto the scene from May 15, 1979, ruled the country for about 19 years and remained very relevant until his demise on the 12th November, 2020.

The man of God said that Jerry's mantra – Probity, Accountability and Transparency, was what he tried to see instituted in the Ghanaian body politic and, he lived and died for this. He said that the best memory we could build to his name was to conscientiously, establish this mantra, and called on politicians to let these values be the lamp to guide their service to Ghana.

Archbishop Buckle asked for forgiveness for Jerry's excesses and leave judgement to the Lord.

Later in the evening, a vigil in honour of the late former President was held at the Air Forces Mess.

For the next two days, Ghanaians were given the opportunity to pay their last respects, as the body of the charismatic and fearless leader, lay-in-state at the Accra International Conference Centre.

After a burial service at the Independence Square in Accra on the fourth day, his body was finally laid to rest at the Military Cemetery.