Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie has passed away, 3news.com can confirm. The renowned lawyer-cum-politician passed away at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness, 3news.com gathered. He was said to have been admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital for an ailment suspected to be coronavirus. Until his death, Mr Owusu Afriyie was the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission. Before then, he served the ruling party as its General Secretary between 2010 and 2014 when the late Jake Obetsebi Lamptey was the National Chairman. He lost his bid for a second term to Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, who was subsequently suspended together with Mr Obetsebi Lamptey’s successor Paul Afoko. After his loss to Mr Agyepong, Sir John responded in a radio interview that delegates must be feared: “Fear delegates [and not ghosts]”, a phrase that has become popular within Ghana’s political landscape. Even last Saturday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made reference to this in his address that followed his acclamation as NPP’s flagbearer for the December 7 elections. “We know [and] to use the famous words of our one-time General Secretary, we have to continue to fear delegates,” the NPP leader said at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.
Sir John was one of the few politicians to have been cited for contempt by the Supreme Court during the landmark election petition in 2013. He was slapped with a fine after pleading guilty. Profile Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie was born in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He attended Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School in Bekwai from where he obtained his GCE Ordinary level certificate. He proceeded to obtain his GCE Advanced level certificate from Konongo Odumase Secondary School in Konongo. He was admitted to study Political Science at the University of Ghana. He then enrolled at the Ghana School of Law where he graduated with Bachelor of Laws. After this he was admitted as a solicitor and counsel for the Supreme Court of Ghana. By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana Follow @kwame_amoh]]>Former NPP General Secretary Sir John passes away
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