channel247 online
President John Dramani Mahama on Sunday, August 10, delivered a heartfelt tribute at the military cemetery in Accra during the burial of Alhaji Dr. Murtala Mohammed and Alhaji Muniru, two of the eight victims of the recent Z-9 helicopter crash.
In a solemn address, the President expressed gratitude to all who had come to pay their last respects, invoking the words of the Holy Quran:
“Indeed, the Quran teaches us that whoever attends the funeral of a fellow and stays till the final prayer receives blessings, and so the blessings of Allah is on all of you.”
He thanked the bereaved families for their patience, explaining that the state was unable to proceed with immediate burial due to the need for scientific forensic identification.
“Unfortunately, the state in which the bodies were made it difficult for us to identify positively which was which, and that’s why we had to go through the forensic process. Happily, that process ended yesterday, and we received the results for our two brothers to bury today,” he said.
President Mahama described both men as personally close to him, highlighting their devotion, intellect, and service to Ghana. He recalled Muniru as a younger brother and “a permanent fixture in my house” who often acted as his personal assistant.
Calling their passing “a very deep personal loss,” the President expressed hope that their devotion to Islam would earn them a place in Jannah al-Firdaus. He also thanked the Imams for offering prayers, noting, “In Islam, once you are dead, the only thing that is useful to you is prayers.”
The President explained that he had decided to have the two buried at the military cemetery, believing it to be “a conducive resting place” where their families could visit at any time.
He concluded with a call to honor their memory through hard work and service:
“I believe they would have wanted us to continue the hard work we were doing with them. In memory of them, we shall work very hard to serve the people of Ghana to ensure the success of our agenda, so that their names will be written in gold in paradise.”
The state funeral for all eight victims of the crash is expected on August 15 with an interdenominational service at the Black Star Square, with families allowed to hold separate commemorative events
Source:channel247online.com/Masopeh Jeremiah
Yaw Boagyan
Rafiq Adam
