Pioneers, in all climes and spheres of life, sweep the floor and lay the ground rules on which subsequent entrants emulate and build on.
Madam Akua Donkor, born in February 1941, personifies this aphorism. She blazed the trail in Ghanaian politics, when she founded Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) and helped shape policy that enhanced the participation of women in politics that was largely dominated by men.
She made her first bid for the presidency in 2012 as an independent candidate, unfortunately, she was disqualified by the Electoral Commission for not meeting eligibility requirements, a decision she disputed, but chose not to legally contest.
In 2016, she faced another setback when her party’s headquarters in Kabu, situated in the Eastern Region, was destroyed by fire, which also led to her disqualification from that election.
To many, she was a joke to our democracy, but the mockery and name calling, did not daunt an enterprising spirit easily found in he. If anything, it actually defined her tenacity to succeed against all odds.
It is an existential fact that two things face every human being and they are uniquely unavoidable. One is life, the other is death. In between are legacies and Akua Donlor, had made her mark for posterity, that dispassionate judge.
Renowned for her spirited presence in Ghanaian politics, Akua Donkor was a staunch advocate for the rights of farmers and women.
Her bold, outspoken demeanour enabled her to capture public attention and significantly impact the grassroots communities she aimed to represent.
Donkor was born in February 1941 and hailed from Afigya Kwabre District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. She is a cocoa farmer by profession. She is not known to have had any formal education.
Madam Donkor was elected assemblywoman for Herman, a step towards achieving her ambition of being the president of Ghana.
Her ambition to be president is evident in the 2012 polls where she applied to contest as an independent candidate.
However, she was barred by the electoral commission. Madam Donkor on the other hand disagreed with the decision.
In her view, she should be addressed as Her Excellency though she was disqualified. Her party, Ghana Freedom Party has its headquarters situated in Kabu in the Eastern Region of Ghana. However, this was gutted by fire on the 22nd of January 2016.
This did not deter her ambition to become president. In her view, the start of a political party is a stepping stone to becoming a president.
On October 10, 2016, the Ghana Electoral Commission announced it had disqualified Akua Donkor together with 12 other presidential candidates from contesting in the December 7, 2016 election.
She admitted that her nomination form was fraught with errors as pointed out by the EC. She called on members and executives of the party not to lose hope as the party bounced back in 2020 to contest in the presidential race.
Akua Donkor was also successful in her attempt to be on the ballot sheet in the 2024 election, picking Number 3 on the ballot.
Since the sad news of her passing broke, tributes have been pouring in from citizens to the family she left behind and loved ones.
Now that the mother, grandmother, farmer and politician, has joined the Saints Triumphant at the age of 72, we pray that her soul will find a deserved rest in the bosom of the Lord.
