By Gbenga Abulude (Politics and General Desk)
Former Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings reportedly died of Covid-19 complications.
The former leader died at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, capital of Ghana on Thursday morning.
The sad development comes within a month that the former military officer buried his mother.
A former Nigerian presidential candidate and media mogul, Chief Dele Momodu, who has close links to the Ghanaian Presidency, confirmed the development on Twitter.
“The saddest news of this year. My God. Former President Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana has passed on. I’m completely devastated. Good night, an African hero,” he posted.
Rawlings, who was a respected African leader, was a military leader, coming to power as a flight lieutenant of the Ghana Air Force following a coup d’état in 1979.
He later became the president of Ghana, ruling the ‘Gold coast’ from 1981 to 2001.
Prior to that, J.J Rawlings led an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ruling military government on 15 May 1979, just five weeks before a scheduled democratic elections were due to take place.
He was until his death, the African Union (AU) envoy to Somalia.
As the leader of Ghana, Rawlings launched a massive anti-corruption campaign that purged the nation of corrupt political elements.
