Gbese Mantse, His Majesty Nii Ayi-Bonte II was a special guest at a thanksgiving service held for the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Holy Cathedral in Accra.
A rich display of the Ga culture was showcased with sub-chiefs and traditional leaders from the Gbese kingdom in their regalia at the event held on Friday, September 16, 2022.
The event was attended by some high-profile dignitaries including the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
In her remarks, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, hailed the late Queen as a continuous rock whose impact is still felt in the United Kingdom and around the world, including Ghana.
“The Queen was a constant, a rock not just for the United Kingdom but for so many around the world. Her Majesty championed the development of the Commonwealth, and we are proud of the longstanding and strong role that Ghana plays in that family. This week I have seen so profoundly, I have heard, I have felt the legacy her majesty leaves behind here in Ghana and the warmth people feel towards her has been a comfort to my team and me through these difficult days,” the High Commissioner said.
Vice President Bawumia on his part described the late queen as a remarkable leader who maintained a good relationship with Ghana.
“The passing of Her Majesty the Queen has been received here in Ghana with a heavy heart, prompting His Excellency the President to direct that all flags in Ghana fly at half-mast for seven days. The high points of Ghana’s relationship with her majesty were in the years 1961 and 1999 during her official visits. Indeed, in her 1961 visit, a special highlife tune was composed in her honor called ‘Welcome Your Majesty.’ Her famous dance with Ghana’s first president and influential pan-Africanist, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah at the farewell ball in Accra in 1961 was described by scholars as both symbolic and significant to the Commonwealth,” Dr. Bawumia said.
The late Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the age of 96, having ascended the British throne some 70 years ago.
Nii Ayi-Bonte II, the Gbese Mantse is regarded as the image of the capital of Ghana and the overlord of 104 satellite towns and villages with 92 of them gazetted as the biggest in the Greater Accra Region.
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