Asantehene Attends Burial Service of Late Kwame Addo-Kufuor Jr

The King of the Asante Kingdom, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, joined the family of the late Kwame Sekyere Addo-Kufuor Jr, former President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, for his burial service.

The service for the first son of the former Defence Minister, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor was held on December 19, 2024, at the St Cyprian’s Cathedral.

Present at the event were Nananom, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Second Lady Samira Bawumia, Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Chief of Staff Akosua Fremah Opare and Founder of the Movement for Change, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.

Also present were the 2024 Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Land and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor and many others.

Mr Addo-Kufuor Jr died on November 28, 2024.

He was last publicly seen at the Symposium, Durbar and dinner held in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the return of King Prempeh I- his maternal great grandfather- at the Manhyia Palace.

Tributes
The Service witnessed the delivery of heartfelt tributes from bereaved family as well as his classmates from Prempeh College and his mentor, Sir Sam Jonah.

His devastated parents were thankful for the kind of human their son grew into, describing him as God fearing, understanding, loving, dutiful and sympathetic.

“As parents, we shall forever cherish his memory and never forget the joy he brought to our hearts and to the hearts of all those who had the pleasure of meeting him.”

His wife, Emilia almost broke down recollecting fond memories of their 20 years union.

She deems their journey together as an “honour” she will forever cherish.

“It so happened that I was the woman chosen to be the other half of a gem like you and I am forever honoured that God found me worthy of this role. I do not think I will ever understand why God chose to call you at this time but the Sovereign Lord knows best, so I am comforted because I know you are safe in his arms.”

His six kids for their part described him as a “true family man”.

“There was nothing he would not do for his children, ‘Nananom’ as he called us.”

Despite his unconditional love and care towards them, they recalled how “stern” he was when necessary.

They highlighted, “As the years passed, he became our confidant, someone we could trust with our most guarded thoughts. With his passing, we not only mourn the loss of a father but also the loss of someone who truly understood us whose counsel and support we deeply cherished.”

They are however grateful for memories and lessons with which he groomed them which they trust would guide them for the rest of their lives.

His brother, Kojo Agyekum-Kufuor, emphasized his deep-seated care for their extended family despite his busy schedule.

Their last meeting, he shared, was at the dinner to celebrate the Centenary of Prempeh I return from exile held at the Manhyia Palace during which they took their last picture.

“We talked about the future, my recent trip to London, the impending elections, family projects and made plans for Christmas. Kwame’s classmate from Prempeh, Oscar Fordjour, who sat across from us insisted we go out to the foyer and take some pictures together. Those turned out to be my last pictures with Kwame. Nothing from that evening prepared any of us for the heartbreaking developments of the week that followed.”

His former boss and mentor, Sir Sam Jonah, weighed in on the loss to the country’s mining sector.

“Kwame’s death is a profound loss not only to his wife and children, his parents and siblings and all of us who loved him but also for the mining industry in Ghana, which he served so diligently. His contributions, leadership and his example will not be forgotten.”

Next was the Amanfoɔ 1983/1985 class group, who highlighted his hefty financial assistance to their members and seniors who were in need.

Profile
Kwame Addo-Kufuor Jr was born in London to Rosemary and Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor in 1966.

He attended six elementary schools including Muswell Hill Infants and Junior, Whittingham School- all in London- State Experimental School and City of Kumasi Preparatory School before getting enrolled at the Prempeh College.

From there, he furthered his education at the School of Administration now University of Ghana Business School before going back to London where he trained as a Chartered Accountant at the Prince Waterhouse.

Right from there, he joined Northwest London TEC Limited in Harrow as an Internal Audit Manager before pursuing his education further to obtain an MBA at the Henley Business School.

He then relocated to Ghana in 1997.

In the course of his career, he worked with Ashanti Goldfields Limited initially as an Internal Audit Manager, Chief Accountant, Head of Finance and then Financial Controller.

From 2006-2008 he was seconded to AngloGold Ashanti Corporate Office in Johannesburg as Senior Finance Manager. This was after the Ashanti Goldfields and AngloGold merger. He later rose through the ranks to become the Vice President in charge of Corporate Affairs at AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited.

Kwame also worked with Newmont Africa initially as Regional Chief Finance Officer and later as Vice President in Charge of Government Relations and Strategic Development.

In 2016, he was elected as President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines where he served for two terms.

This was followed by his election as the first President of the ECOWAS Federation of Chamber of Mines which ended in 2021.

In early 2024, he established the RIS Mining Consult, a firm that supports clients to navigate complexities in the mining landscape.

He was married to Emilia for 20 years and shared four children with her. However from his previous marriage, he had two kids.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini