DFP Mourns Fathia

The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has expressed its condolences to the family and children of the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Ghanaians for the great loss of Madam Fathia Nkrumah, wife of the first president and the very first First Lady of Ghana.

A statement by the party recognised and appreciated the important role the late Madam Fathia played in the political history and development of Ghana, particularly in the heady days of the immediate post-independence era, when the liberation struggle was being fought relentlessly.

“She stood by her husband who had vowed to fight for the total liberation of the African continent and gave him the necessary support in his effort to bring the whole of Africa together. But more importantly, she was also a pillar of support to her husband in his efforts at developing the country,” the statement said.

It added that it was worthy of note that in order to practically demonstrate his belief in African unity, Dr Kwame Nkrumah had to use the personality of the late Madam Fathia who graciously agreed to marry him.

“As first lady, she played her role of supporting her husband to administer the affairs of this nation and stood by him through thick and thin in those turbulent years of the new independent Ghana until the overthrow of the CPP government in 1966”.

The DFP recollected the unpleasant circumstances Madam Fathia had to live through with her children after the overthrow of Dr Nkrumah and expressed regret for the anguish she went through while her husband lived in exile in Guinea.

“Her circumstances got even worse on the death of her husband as we as a people failed to cater for her which eventually made her to return to Egypt, her home country. Nevertheless, her spirit was never broken,” the statement said.

The DFP said the lessons we had to learn from her life are the fact that she remained steadfast and resilient even in the face of grave adversity in life and left behind a legacy of a very modest and humble first lady who suffered deprivation without much fuss.

“The greatest tribute we can pay the late Madam Fathia is for all surviving former First Ladies to emulate her humility,” the statement concluded.