Prof. Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Former AIDS Commission Boss Laid To Rest

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Created on Sunday, 23 September 2012 00:00

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Prof. Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Former AIDS Commission Boss Laid To Rest

The final funeral rites for the late Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, former Deputy Director – General, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and former Director-General, Ghana AIDS Commission, was at the weekend held at the Ghana Police Church Hall, Accra.

He was 70 years.

Professor Awuku Amoa in June 2012, underwent a spine surgery at Narh Beta Hospital at Tema and was later transferred to the Surgical and Medical Emergency Unit at Korle – Bu Teaching Hospital where he died as a result of post-surgery complications on 9th July, 2012.

The packed to capacity church auditorium, was a scene of sorrow as family members, friends and sympathisers, close associates, prominent personalities and a couple of government officials clad in black cloth and red arm bands shed tears.

They solemnly filed past the casket containing the mortal remains of the deceased amidst tears and wailing.

In his sermon, titled “the future glorious state of the Christian”, Very Reverend Dr. Joseph M. Y. Edusa – Eyison, Vice – President Trinity Theological Seminary, implored the mourners to appreciate the sudden demise of Prof. Amoa as a necessity of life.

He asked them to be guided by the event, reminding them always that all that the world presented was transient and imperfect stressing that only Christ was the giver of glorious life and asked them to “focus on perfection and life beyond what we see”.

He admonished them to be strengthened and built up in faith by the test and trials which came their way as it was very paramount for their full maturity as pilgrims just passing through this physical world.

“Sicknesses and illness and other challenges will be gone forever. We will understand the failures and successes of the world system as compared to what God will give us”, the Minister added.

He described the deceased as a good conservationist, a good teacher, accommodative and someone who “thought right and contributed far more than what was expected of him”.

In a tribute read on his wife’s (Mrs. Margaret Awuku Amoa) behalf of Mrs Asenso Okyere, she described her late husband as a dear father, a brother, an uncle, a coach, her mentor and everything that personified a husband who cared for them with love and dedication.

She said he was someone who showed sympathy and respect for both the old and the young, hard working and thanked him for all his efforts.

Mr Oteng Amoah, one of the deceased’s son who read a tribute on behalf of his siblings, thanked their father for the strong values he gained in life and which he passed on to them.

He described his father as a selfless man who was always open, willing to listen and to give a helping hand and his understanding saying “we miss the interactions he always had with us”.

According to him, his father’s contribution to their lives has greatly shaped them as men and women stressing “he showed us right from wrong and taught us to be strong, his patience and his gentle care were everlasting and are example for us”.

Mr. Theophilus Tabi, Secretary at the church, who read a tribute for the Ghana Police Church, said Prof Awuku Amoa became a fully registered member of the Ghana Police Church in 1983 where he was nurtured in Christ and in faith and contributed to the work of God’s Holy Estate.

He said the deceased carried every aspect of his responsibility with due diligence and a high sense of responsibility and was never found wanting whenever called to play a role in the church.

Miss Betty Nanor, lecturer and faculty member, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), reading a tribute on behalf of the Institute, said Prof. Amoa devoted 28 years of his working life to the service of the institute during which time he contributed so much in diverse ways towards the growth of the Institute.

She said he held key positions in the Institute some of which include Professor of Human Resources and Health Administration and also a Special Advisor to the Director – General of GIMPA, research officer/ lecturer and associate professor as well as other administrative positions.

According to Miss Nanor, he was instrumental in the development of the health administration and management programme and was involved in the development of a population studies programme funded by UNFPA.

Prof. Awuku Amoa was survived by a wife and four children.

It was not clearly made known the exact cemetery where the deceased would be interred but a younger brother of the deceased, Mr. Kwasi Amoa, told the GNA that he would be buried “privately”.

Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa was born at Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region on the 23rd October 1941 to the late Rev. Jonas William Amoa of Asante Kokofu, a Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and Mrs. Margaret Oforiwaa Amoa, of the Kukurantumi Royal family. He was the first child of his parents.

Source: GNA/Ghana