By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ghanaians have expressed shock over the death of their former First Lady, Madam Theresa Kuffour who passed away on Sunday at the age of 88.
She died just 24 days to her 89th birthday. Theresa Kufuor was wife of former President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor.
Some Ghanaians have taken to the social media to mourn their former First Lady. Twitter user, @zekayvibes wrote “The only First Lady who was loved by both the ruling party and opposition party”. Another user, @watchwuragh said, “She died a heroine”.
The former First Lady has been a subject of numerous death rumours since 2017 but they all turned out false until her departure on Sunday.
Close family and well wishers have since thronged the Airport Residential Area, residence of the former First Couple, to offer commiserations to Mr. Kufuor, the former President of the republic.
In an interview, Dr. Kwabena Osei Adubofour, speaking on behalf of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, shared that Mr. Kufuor was doing well.
However, he revealed that when he first received the news of Mrs. Theresah Kuffour’s passing, the former President was understandably emotional and deeply affected, leading to moments of sobbing and reflection on the loss.
Mrs. Kufuor started her education at the Catholic Convent, OLA, at Keta in the Volta Region of Ghana. She later went to London, where she was educated as a Registered General Nurse, in the Southern Hospital Group of Nursing.
After further study at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and Paddington General Hospital, London, she qualified as a State Certified Midwife with a Certificate in Premature Nursing.
Theresa married John Kufuor when he was at age 23 after they met at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961. They got married in 1962.
She has five children with John Kufuor, former president of Ghana; J. Addo Kufuor, Nana Ama Gyamfi, Saah Kufuor, Agyekum Kufuor and Owusu Afriyie Kufuor.
Despite being the first lady of Ghana for eight years between 2001 and 2009, she managed to maintain a low profile in the political arena.
In 2007 she pushed for policy changes in the Government’s white paper on Educational Reforms towards the implementation of UNESCO’s Free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) program for kindergarten children.
She founded the Mother and Child Community Development Foundation (MCCDF), a non-governmental organisation operating in Ghana and Canada that supports work in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
