We stand with Blacks in America – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed his deep condolences to the family and loved ones of the late George Floyd.

The Ghanaian leader said the death of Floyd, 46, will inspire change in the United States of America (USA) as regards racism and hate.

Floyd lost his life on Monday, May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned him down with his knee for eight minutes 46 seconds, in a video that brought the incident to light.

The police were phoned by a neighbourhood grocery store alleging that Floyd had paid with a counterfeit $20 note.

The officers said he physically resisted arrest, telling them he was claustrophobic.

His death has sparked unrests across the US with the National Guard, the US reserve military force, deploying 5,000 of its personnel to 15 states as well as Washington DC.

In a Facebook post on Monday, President Akufo-Addo said the issue has shocked Blacks the world over especially as Floyd was unarmed.

“It carried with it an all too painful familiarity, and an ugly reminder. It cannot be right that, in the 21^st century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grapple with the problem of systemic racism.”

He expressed solidarity with “our kith and kin in America in these difficult and trying times, and we hope that the unfortunate, tragic death of George Floyd will inspire a lasting change in how America confronts head on the problems of hate and racism”.

By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|editors.3news.com|Ghana

Follow @kwame_amoh