High-powered officials join grieving family as First Family’s personal bond with deceased matriarch shines through
The scorching Wednesday sun beat down on Jejeidayiri, Wa, but grief had already made the day heavy for the Kuri-teng family. As they gathered to bid farewell to their beloved matriarch, Hajia Habiba Yakubu Kuri-teng, affectionately known to all as Nnaa Biba, they received news that would underscore just how deeply their grandmother had touched lives far beyond her immediate circle.
President John Dramani Mahama had not forgotten the woman he and his wife, Madam Lordina, called “mother.”
A high-powered delegation, personally dispatched by the President himself, arrived at the funeral grounds to pay their final respects. Leading the entourage was Dr. Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff, whose presence signaled the importance the First Family placed on this moment.
But the delegation was far from small. NDC executives from across the Upper West Region had made the journey. Municipal and District Chief Executives stood alongside CEOs and their deputies. The Regional Chairman, Mr. Abdul-Nasir Sani, represented the party faithful, while Madam Shamima Muslim, Deputy Government Spokesperson, ensured the government’s voice was heard in the solemn gathering.
The list of dignitaries read like a who’s who of the region’s leadership: Hon. Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Regional Minister; H.E. Kwame Mumuni, Member of the Council of State; and Hon. Alhaji Dr. Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, the Minister for Labour and MP for Wa Central Constituency, all standing shoulder to shoulder, united in mourning.
To the grieving family, however, it was the personal connection that moved them most. The story of Hajia Habiba’s bond with the Mahamas was well-known in the household. Whenever the President and First Lady visited Wa, they would inevitably find their way to her residence, not as dignitaries, but as family. And when illness struck Hajia Habiba in February 2025, that bond never wavered. The First Family stood steadfast, offering support through every difficult moment.
As the funeral rites drew to a close, the family gathered themselves to express their gratitude. In a gesture both humble and profound, they presented copies of the Holy Quran to President Mahama and Dr. Julius Debrah, a gift of prayer and blessings for the leaders who had honored their mother in her final journey.
For the Kuri-teng family, the delegation’s presence was more than political protocol. It was a validation of their grandmother’s life and legacy, a testament to a woman who had opened her home and heart to the nation’s First Family, and in doing so, had woven her story into the fabric of Ghana’s leadership.
As the mourners raised their hands in prayer, the words echoed across the funeral grounds: “May Allah grant our beloved Nnaa Biba Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.”
And in that moment, surrounded by dignitaries and family alike, the legacy of a woman simply known as “mother” felt eternal.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com