First Lady Mourns Ghana’s First Female Brigadier-General

The First lady of the Republic of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has paid tribute to Ghana’s first female Brigadier-General, the late Ama Emefa Edjeanu-Afenu.

“Hers was a life of resilience and breaking barriers. She was a shining example of what women can do…an icon for women”, was how the First lady chose to eulogise Ama Emefa.

Ama Emefa died on Monday, January 24, 2022, at the 34 Military Hospital after a brief illness, the Ghana Armed Forces confirmed.

According to Graphic, Brigadier-General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu was commissioned into the Ghana Armed Forces on April 25, 1980, as a Second Lieutenant, after eighteen months of regular training at the Ghana Military Academy. After the training, she served as a Platoon Commander at the 2nd Battalion of Infantry in 1980 for her regimental training.

The Graphic says she was also the Adjutant to the 3rd Border Guards Battalion from 1981 to 1982 and subsequently, appointed General Staff Officer Grade 3 (Training, and Personnel Staff Officer) at the Border Guards Headquarters from 1983 to 1984 and as Adjutant at the Border Guards Training School, Kpetoe in 1984.

In 1995, she was appointed the Second in Command of the Ghana Armed Forces Pay Regiment, and in 1999, the Commanding Officer, all, which she became the first female in the Armed Forces to occupy, Graphic says.

Graphic reports that in 2013, she became the first woman to be appointed Deputy Military Adviser (DMILAD) at the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the UN, New York till 2016. Whilst serving as DMILAD, she was promoted in March 2016 to the rank of Brigadier-General, becoming the first female to be ever promoted as a General in the Ghana Armed Forces.

According to Graphic, she also served as the Ghana Armed Forces Representative to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department. Brigadier General Edjeani-Afenu also participated in UN peacekeeping operations as the GhanaBatts (Ghana Battalion) in UNIFIL (1994 & 1998); MONUSCO (2007) and UNMIL (2009).

Source: Opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini