Ghana was hit by the news of the death of one of its deputy ministers of finance, John Kumah, on Thursday, March 7, 2024.
The floor of the Parliament of Ghana, which John Kumah was part of, was filled with sadness the moment the news of his death got to the house.
John Kumah’s colleague deputy finance minister and Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, Abena Osei-Asare, broke down in tears upon hearing the news.
A video shared by GHOne TV showed Osei-Asare sitting on the ground weeping as she was being consoled by some of her colleague MPs.
The Atiwa East MP was ushered out of the floor as the sitting was still ongoing. She was followed by some other MPs.
The Speaker of Parliament suspended the sitting upon hearing the news himself.
After the suspension of the sitting, some of the MPs from both the Minority Caucus and Majority Caucus could be seen expressing their shock about the death of John Kumah.
Even though the cause of the deputy minister’s death has not been confirmed, sources indicate that he was sick for a while and has been receiving treatment in Germany.
John Kumah was 45 years old.
John Kumah was appointed the Deputy Minister for Finance by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in January 2021.
He was the Member of Parliament for Ejisu, in the Ashanti Region and has been in parliament since 2021.
He was regarded as one of the rising stars in the ruling New Party Patriotic (NPP) and was touted by some factions in the party as a potential running mate to the flagbearer of the party, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
He recently won the party’s parliamentary primaries in his constituency overwhelmingly to represent it in the upcoming general elections.
He was an entrepreneur, preacher and a lawyer.
Kumah served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) before he entered parliament in 2020.
He is survived by his wife, Apostle Mrs Lilian Kumah, and 6 children.
Watch the reaction of the MPs in the video below:
Deputy Finance Minister Mrs. Abena Osei-Asare being assisted from the floor weeping uncontrollably.#GHOneNews #GHOneTV pic.twitter.com/WIle8J876z
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) March 7, 2024
News of Deputy Finance Minister Dr. John Kumah’s death is filtering in. The House is suspended and MPs have broken into small meetings#DwasoNsem
UEFA Richard Sky Roma Ghanaians Ajax Tetteh Quarshie Sammy Gyamfi Rigged Addo D Hearts of Oak Chef Smith Coutinho pic.twitter.com/T6FfzrGazU
— Adom 106.3 FM (@Adom1063fm) March 7, 2024
