A stalwart of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Amma Busia has passed on.
NPP’s Council of Elders member reportedly succumbed to a brief illness on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
Madam Amma Busia who is also sister of late Ghana’s Prime Minister in the Second Republic, Kofi Abrefa Busia was 87.
Her son, Obeng Busia confirmed her demise on Accra-based Asaase radio.
He said his mother Busia died peacefully at the Nyaho Medical Centre in Accra.
Despite health challenges that limited her mobility over the past decade, Amma Busia maintained a strong and graceful presence until her passing.
A prominent figure of the NPP, she was renowned for her spirited campaign against the government of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and served as a notable political critic during the 1970s and 1980s, facing arrest on seven occasions due to her activism.
Following her seventh arrest, she endured a 90-day detention.
Amma Busia faced adversity early in life, losing her father at the age of six and her mother at 13.
Despite these challenges, she overcame hardships through education.
Engaging in politics after the launch of the opposition United Party (UP), which later transformed into the Busia-led Progress Party (PP) and eventually gave rise to the current New Patriotic Party (NPP), Amma Busia played a pivotal role as a founding member.
She actively challenged the Rawlings-led Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government during its tenure.
Upon the NPP’s victory in 2000 with John Agyekum Kufuor, Amma Busia assumed a role in the Council of State.
Recognized for her brilliance as a political organizer, formidable campaigner, and unwavering NPP member, she held the first and third national vice-chairperson positions within the party at various times.
