Vice President Bawumia reading tribute on behalf of government. Photo: Ebo Goma
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has described the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama as “a soldier’s soldier” who will forever be celebrated for sacrificing his life to protect the environment (from illegal miners).
He said it was difficult to reconcile the irony that Maj. Mahama was brutally murdered by his fellow Ghanaians, while on a mission to protect the environment, adding that, “If ever there was a person who did not deserve to die, it was Maj. Maxwell Mahama.”
Vice President Bawumia said this in a tribute at the funeral of the young military officer at the forecourt of the State House yesterday.
Maj. Mahama, 31, was on an official mission at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region, one of the communities known to be engaged in the illegal mining menace, when he was gruesomely lynched by the youth in the area.
Although armed, Maj. Mahama did not shoot at his assailants, who attacked him with stones, sticks and cutlasses, claiming they mistook him to be an armed robber.
Vice President Bawumia said it would not be enough to describe the late officer as a hero, seal, ranger, or commando for his commitment to duty, and the bravery he exhibited on that fateful day.
“This was a soldier who was legitimately armed, and could legitimately shoot at his attackers. But he refrained from doing so. Even as they sought to take his life, he sought to protect theirs. This is a soldier’s soldier,” he said.
Dr Bawumia said Maj. Mahama lived the creed of the Ghana Armed Forces to its latter, the creed to commit to defend the nation on land, in the air and on the sea, even at the peril of their lives.
“If there is ever a soldier who lived this commitment as a religious duty, that was Maj Mahama.”
“The nation cannot mourn Maj. Mahama enough. Our tears cannot stop flowing as we lay to rest, such a fine example of not only what it takes to be called a soldier but indeed, what it takes to be called human.”
“How do we explain to his young children when they grow, that their father lost his life at the hands of fellow Ghanaians, not at the hands of foreign invaders and not in a battlefield? But such is life, sometimes the worst happens to good people,” he said.
The Vice President said the death of Maj. Mahama should serve as the death that heralded the death of impunity in the country.
“May the tears of his wife, children, and family never ever be shed by another soldier’s family,” he said.
The wife of the late military officer, Barbara Mahama, said until the unfortunate demise of her husband, who she called “my king”, he had plans for a bright future for his young family.
“When I think about you, I only smile because you are more than a piece of flesh circulating on social media. You were full of life, energy and vigour so I choose to remember you in that sense.”
“I love you and will always love you. I always reminded you of what you mean to me. You meant the world to me, my everything. But you were always too worried that you were not giving me the best of life. Seriously, I do not regret wanting you all to myself and that is why I can look back and smile today,” she said.
The late Maj Mahama, born November 1, 1985, enlisted in the Ghana Military Academy on October 2005, on completion of senior secondary school, although he had gained admission to the University of Science and Technology.
After 22 months of training, he commissioned into the Ghana Army on September 7, 2007 as a Second Lieutenant and was posted to the 5 Infantry Battalion as a Platoon Commander.
During his short but illustrious military career, he rose through the ranks and became a captain, serving in various capacities both home and abroad such as Platoon Commander, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Adjutant United Nations Operation in Cote D’Ivoire, Military Information Officer United Nations Mission in Liberia, and Company Commander 5 Infantry Battalion from January 2014 till his death.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of Ghana in 2004. Until his demise, he was pursuing a Master’s Degree from the University of Leicester and was due to graduate in July.
He met his wife, a course mate, whiles pursuing his degree in the University of Ghana. They got married in 2012 and she bore him two sons, Jaden and Jeremiah.
By Yaw Kyei, Claude Nyarko Adams, and Julius Yao Petetsi
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