Late Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo to be honoured with state-assisted burial

President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced a state-assisted funeral for the late Professror Ama Ata Aidoo.

The writer, considered one of the country's finest, died last month after a short illness.

At the meeting to officially inform President Akufo-Addo of her demise, the family of the late writer said the funeral rights will begin on July 13th and end on 16th July 2023.

President Akufo-Addo indicated that the state will assist with the preparation.

“I’m happy that the arrangements you have made for her funeral will allow me to attend the laying in-state,” President Akufo-Addo said at a brief ceremony to receive the family.

He further added that “Even before you came here, I had made the decision that she should be given a state-assisted burial. She deserves it, and it will give myself and the people of Ghana the opportunity to pay our last respects.”

The renowned author died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at age 83.

Profile of Ama Ata Aidoo
Christina Ama Ata Aidoo was born on 23 March 1940 in Abeadzi Kyiakor, near Saltpond, in the Central Region of Ghana.

She was raised in a Fante royal household, the daughter of Nana Yaw Fama, chief of Abeadzi Kyiakor, and Maame Abasema. She grew up at a time of resurgent British neocolonialism that was taking place in her homeland.

Her grandfather was murdered by neocolonialists, which brought her father's attention to the importance of educating the children and families of the village on the history and events of the era.

This led him to open up the first school in their village and influenced Aidoo to attend Wesley Girls' High School, where she first decided she wanted to be a writer.

Aidoo attended Wesley Girls' Senior High School in Cape Coast, from 1961 to 1964. After high school, she enrolled at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English and also wrote her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, in 1964.

The play was published by Longman the following year, making Aidoo the first published African woman dramatist.

—Citi Newsroom