Kumasi Goes Black for Appiah-Menka

It was as though there had been a popular fiat that residents of Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region, should all dress in a black uniform yesterday Tuesday and almost everyone was clad in in black mourning attire to mark the ‘one-week observance’ of the death of Akenten Appiah-Menka, a founding father of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) came off there.

The 84-year-old Appiah Minkah kicked the bucket died last Tuesday.

Residents of the city therefore decided to wear a mourning cloth of black to mark the event.

Top dignitaries including President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare , COCOBOD Board Chairman, Hackman Owuwu Agyeman, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, and District and Metropolitan Chief Executives were in attendance.

Appiah Menka served as a Minister of State in the Second Republic. He was a highly respected private legal practitioner and businessman, known for producing the popular ‘Appino’ soap.

He was a member of the Constitution Review Commission which was established by the former President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory.

Mr Appiah Menka was also the Chairman of the Ashanti Oil Mills, Appiah Menka Complex Limited and Appiah Menka Plantations.

He is also the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the NPP in the Ashanti Region.

Just after the death of the party stalwart, the vice president Dr. Bawumia, issues a statement which contained a glowing tribute to his memory:

Below is the full statement:

“I received with great shock the death of Lawyer Akenten Appiah Menka, a great member of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition.

“He was truly an amazing Patriot. He served Ghana faithfully as a minister of state in the second Republic and as a member of the Constitution Review Committee under President Mills.

“Nana Appiah Menka was also an industrialist whose company, Appiah Menka Complex Limited, produced the Apino soap. Indeed, GHANA has lost a great Statesman and Leader. May his gentle soul find a peaceful rest in the bosom of the Almighty God.

“Thank you, sir, for the mark you left on humanity.”

By: Afia Sarpong Amankwa/ thePublisher