Late President Mills Choked On His Blood

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00

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Late President Mills Choked On His Blood

{sidebar id=10 align=right}There are strong indications that former President John Evans Atta Mills choked on his own blood after suffering a rupture of a major blood vessel when there was nobody by his side to render a helping hand or even engage medical assistance when the danger signs were manifesting.

A post-mortem report DAILY GUIDE chanced upon has revealed that the remote cause of death, which has been in the public domain for a long time yet disputed by the deceased’s handlers, is throat cancer. The immediate cause of death however has been attributed to the choking resulting from the ruptured blood vessel.

The cancerous growth, according to the report, metastasized or spread to his sinuses, that is the cavity of the nasal passage, which perhaps accounted for his altered voice in his last days.

The inflammation or diseasing of this part of the body is referred to as sinusitis.

It would be recalled that the deceased, in the heat of questions about his health when he sought treatment in a South African hospital, said he was suffering from sinusitis.

The autopsy report explained that the tumor or growth ruptured his carotid artery, a major blood vessel so he bled profusely and with no assistance at the time, he suffocated, which was what was referred to by those who set eyes on him when he was brought to the military hospital on that fateful day.

The loss of blood from his nostrils led those agitating for a post-mortem to suspect poisoning because in their estimation, bleeding was consistent with the symptoms of poisoning, especially when the deceased had said for the umpteenth time that he was not sick.

The report also showed that the late president died before reaching the military hospital some two hours earlier, a revelation which further throws a question about the veracity of previous reports of whether he died at the hospital or at the Castle.

The report has provided more grounds for those agitating for a post-mortem to proceed with their demands, especially since the autopsy shows that there are still gray areas in the management of the late president’s situation.

Why was the deceased left unattended to when it was obvious that he was suffering from a terminal ailment and so could not be left alone without attention?

At the time that he was struggling to breathe because of the blood getting in the way of his air passage, someone in attendance could have raised the alarm for an expert attention to be sought immediately.

The report brings to the fore, once more, the inconsistencies regarding where the late president died. While some claim he died at the Castle, others want us to believe that he passed away upon reaching the military hospital at 2:15pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012.

The post-mortem, as gleaned by DAILY GUIDE, rather than settling the issue of the cause of death of the former president, is likely to raise other issues, especially since the government has kept quiet on it, rather referring it to the family.

The position taken by government is seen as hypocritical, especially when it has told the family that the departed president was a state asset since he died in office.

AFAG Demand

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), a pro-New Patriotic Party advocacy body, in a statement on the subject, demanded that an autopsy be carried out to settle the challenge once and for all.

AFAG noted that government had so far been reluctant in providing any information on the cause of the death of the late president.

The Chairman of the Funeral Planning Committee, Kofi Totobi-Quakyi, AFAG pointed out, “ has stated that a coroner’s inquest was not necessary in the case of the death of President Mills because he died at the 37 Military Hospital and in the competent hands of doctors”, a remark which is inconsistent with the post-mortem DAILY GUIDE has sighted.

Although the chairman’s position was that the matter was a private one limited to the family of the deceased, AFAG stated, “we respectfully disagree with it.

This view goes contrary to the state of the country’s law, which makes it mandatory for a coroner to look into the death of a person who dies not in a hospital or within 24 hours of being brought to a hospital. The late President’s death falls within this category”.

“The view that the cause of the death of our late President”, AFAG said, “is a serious public interest issue and the public must be told before his burial at the weekend”.

AFAG pointed out that it had observed that the NDC government was attempting to shroud the chain of events that led to the death of the late president, adding, “It appears to be the same way issues surrounding the state of health of President Mills were treated and mishandled.”

The death of the president, it maintained, should not be treated the way it was done, and that Ghanaians should not be treated with disdain.

AFAG added that it “will delve and demand answers to the chain of events, acts of commission or omission that led to the death of President Mills.

But for now, Ghanaians simply deserve to know the exact cause of the death of President Mills because it simply cannot be a private issue, limited to the confines of relatives of President Mills or members of government.”

Source: A.R. Gomda/D-Guide

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Mills Died Before 37 Hospital Arrival

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00

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Mills Died Before 37 Hospital Arrival

{sidebar id=10 align=right}The New Statesman can reveal that Ghana’s former President, John Evans Atta-Mills, did not die at the 37 Military Hospital as Ghanaians were made to believe by President John Dramani Mahama.

Our reliable sources indicate the post-mortem result on the late president shows he died before arrival at the hospital. Also unconfirmed reports indicate the body of the late president was flown into the country in the night of yesterday from South Africa where it underwent preservation, expected to keep if for about 100 years.

It is recalled that in his inaugural address as leader of the nation, President John Mahama stated emphatically that President Mills died at the 37 Military hospital at 2:15pm after a short illness.

However, information available to the New Statesman, quoting post mortem results carried out at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital reveals that the former President died of “metastatic throat cancer spread to sinuses, eyes and throat.”

According to the report, the tumour eroded President Mills’ carotid artery, which is a very major blood vessel. The report implies that the late President, as a result of the eroding of the artery, may have choked on his own blood because there was no one to handle him properly.

The circumstances of President Mills’s death suggest negligence on the part of his medical handlers. And, this may call for a wider public enquiry to show whether or not better care could have saved him.

For instance, none of his medical team was around when he needed them most and his body was taken to the hospital without even a nurse around him.

{sidebar id=12 align=right}The New Statesman is also reliably informed that on his last visit to New York for treatment, the doctors there insisted he be detained for at least two months or risk dying if he returned home. We are still investigating why that advice was ignored.

What is obvious is that treatment of cancer, particularly malignant kind, requires a strict adherence to a regimental treatment. But, the president's official schedules, and particularly, the strange decision by the Castle to hide the truth about his ill health made it practically impossible for him to freely subject himself to the necessary treatment.

The results of the post-mortem is also a contradiction to claims made by functionaries of the NDC administration, particularly Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who said President Mills did not die of cancer.

Former President Rawlings, who worked with Professor Mills as his Vice President in 1996, said, after the death of President Mills that “considering that the cancer affected both his eye and his ear, he couldn’t sustain more than three hours per day.”

Checks conducted by the New Statesman show that “patients with metastatic cancer of the throat have cancer that has spread to distant sites beyond the throat and neck region.” Treatment of this type of cancer may consist of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, biological therapy, or a combination of these treatment techniques.

Multi-modality treatment, which is treatment using two or more techniques, is increasingly recognized as an important approach for increasing a patient’s chance of cure or prolonging survival.

Source: thestatesmanonline.com

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JJ Rawlings Missing On Mourners’ List

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00

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JJ Rawlings Missing On Mourners’ List

{sidebar id=10 align=right}Government was compelled by circumstance to pull out an obituary of the late President Mills which omitted the names of some key and influential persons of the land including former President Jerry John Rawlings.

The initial funeral announcement (obituary) did not also include the names of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary General, who all are said to have been assigned special roles.

The situation raised eyebrows as people asked whether it was a deliberate attempt to sideline Mr. Rawlings, the man who brought the late president from political obscurity and made him the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but later became his fiercest critic.

Interestingly, the names of Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram and that of the former Director at the Ghana School of Law, Kweku Ansa Asare, made it to the list.

What is, however, not clear is whether or not the previous obituary which was released was not officially sanctioned. This is in view of the fact that both the new obituary and the previous one had lots in common including the embossment of the Coat of Arms and the same picture of the late president.

The only difference therein is the inclusion of former Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor, Kofi Annan and that of his alma mater, Achimota Old Students Association (AKORA) and a few others as well as the type face.

Key among other names that appeared on the list were President John Dramani Mahama, who is the number one chief mourner, Ebusuapanyin Kwamena Bandoh, otherwise known as Ato Brew, the head of the late president’s family and several other family members.

The latest decision to include the name of Mr. Rawlings, former President Kufuor and Kofi Annan and others is considered a face-saving move to shield the funeral committee from its hitherto sloppy job.

Members of the planning committee, excluding the chairman, Kofi Totobi Quakyi, called on Mr Rawlings on Monday to brief him on arrangements put in place for the funeral.

Led by Nana Ato Dadzie, the delegation presented the former president with a detailed programme of activities for the three-day event.

Nana Ato Dadzie confirmed that the funeral committee had, in conjunction with the family of the late president, worked tirelessly to put together a schedule of events that would give a befitting farewell to the late president.

President Rawlings thanked the delegation for taking time to brief him on the details of the funeral activities.Other members of the committee delegation were Ambassador Kobina Wudu and Bo Amissah, who replaced the notorious Carl Wilson as chairman of the Confiscated Vehicles Committee.

Source: Charles Takyi-Boadu/D-Guide

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Mills' final journey begins

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Category: Special Reports

Created on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00

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Mills' final journey begins

A large number of Ghanaians and foreigners will have the opportunity to pay their last respects to the late President John Evans Atta Mills from Wednesday as the country commences an elaborate three-day state funeral.

He will be laid in state at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra.

The President died on Tuesday July 24, 2012.

President John Dramani Mahama will be the first person to file past the casket, after which other dignitaries and the general public will have the opportunity to also file past the mortal remains of President Mills.

Accra, the national capital; Ekumfi Otuam, the hometown of Professor Mills, and Cape Coast, where some of his siblings live, will be the nerve centres of wailing, as Ghanaians pay their last respects to the man whose death has united the nation in grief.

The national capital is already draped in red and black colours, while flags still fly at half mast, and vehicular traffic begin to jam in many places as Accra screeches to a standstill for the funeral of President Mills.

A number roads in the metropolis would be blocked to traffic.

Being the first time such a calamitous event had befallen the nation and given the virtues of tolerance, humility and peace-mindedness he brought to the presidency, the funeral of Professor Mills is expected to be grand, massive and under very tight security.

{sidebar id=10 align=right}According to arrangements announced by the Funeral Planning Committee, the casket containing the body of President Mills would arrive at the Banquet Hall, State House at 8a.m. Wednesday, to be handed over to the family to perform some customary rites.

The casket will then be opened at 11 a.m. for President John Mahama, Vice-President K. B. Amissah-Arthur, the wife, son and family of the late President, state officials, members of the Council of State and representatives of political parties to file past the body.

Other dignitaries to file past the body are former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor, the Speaker and leadership of Parliament, the Chief Justice and her delegation, Service Commanders and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

Subsequently, the general public will have the chance to also view the body from 1 p.m. noon to 7 p.m, after which a night vigil of musical and cultural display will be staged at the fore court of the State House in memory of the late President, ending at midnight to climax the first day of funeral activities.

On the second day, Thursday, August 9, 2012, the state funeral continues with the public viewing of the body from 6 a.m. at the Banquet Hall.

Arrangements have been made for special groups, such as the Ghana Bar Association, the University Teachers Association of Ghana, Old Achimotans Association and Old Hockey Players Association, all of which the late President belonged to, as well as traditional rulers to also file past the body on that day.

According to the Chairman of the Funeral Planning Committee, Mr Kofi Totobi-Quakyi, efforts were also being made to facilitate the movement of persons with disability and other vulnerable groups to also file past the body.

The evening of Thursday is dedicated to the reading of tributes and an all-night prayer service in memory of President Mills, while the cultural displays also continue.

On the final day of the funeral on Friday, August 10, 2012, the body of the late President will be ushered into the hands of God at a church service at the Independence Square where the visiting Heads of State and international dignitaries will be invited to file past the body.

Members of the general public are required to be seated in the stands at the Independence Square by 7:30 a.m. after which they would be closed, while invited guests are required to take their seats by 9 a.m. or remain outside the venue.

After the funeral service, the casket containing the mortal remains of the late President will be driven through some principal streets of Accra.

From the Independence Square, the Presidential Cortege will move left to the traffic light intersection near the Old Parliament House, then go right through the Movenpick Hotel to the African Liberation Circle, then go right again through the State House and International Conference Centre road to the traffic light intersection near the Osu Cemetery and turn right to the Independence Square.

The late President will subsequently be interred at the Peace Park, a piece of land lying in the angle of the Castle Drive and the Marine Drive, near the Castle, Osu.

Mr Totobi-Quakyi told journalists at a media briefing Tuesday that the family of the late President had requested for a private thanksgiving service that would be held in Cape Coast on Sunday.

He said the funeral committee was in consultation with the family to observe the 40th day ceremony of the President’s death at Ekumfi Otuam.

Mr Totobi-Quakyi said the Chief Imam would lead special Muslim prayers for the late President at the Abossey Okai Central Mosque in Accra, adding that the Islamic leader had also requested all mosques across the country to offer similar prayers.

He dismissed media reports that the casket for the late President cost $75,000, in addition to huge sums of money being spent on the funeral, adding that the committee would reveal the cost involved at the end of the funeral.

“In any case, President Mills will turn in his grave if we make a mortal mistake to spend that amount on his casket. He will resurrect the next day”, he said.

From: Daily Graphic

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