One of Ghana's foremost authors, Professor Kofi Awoonor, was
among scores of people shot dead in Saturday's attack at the Westgate Shopping
Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.
One of Africa's most extraordinary
poets, Mr. Awoonor also served in several political roles in Ghana. Until
recently, he was the chairman of Ghana's Council of State, having being
appointed by the late President John Atta-Mills and in 2009 was elected to chair
that advisory body.
Mr. Awoonor's death in the massacre
has sent shock waves around the world, a source at the Ghana High Commission in
Nairobi confirmed. A Somali Islamist militant group, Al Shabab, has claimed
responsibility for the gruesome attack in which 59 people perished. Many more
victims sustained various degrees of critical injuries.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has
vowed to hunt down the perpetrators of the attack. Reports say Mr. Awoonor's son who was with him
at the mall also sustained injuries but is currently responding to treatment.
Further source at Legon told
SaharaReporters that Mr. Awoonor's death "has put Ghanaians in a big
mourning mood. He was a very beloved man, an honorable writer who believed in
lifting up all Ghanaians".
At various times, Mr. Awoonor, who
was inspired by his country's most well known nationalist figure, Kwame
Nkrumah, also served as Ghana's ambassador to Cuba, Brazil. From 1990 to 1994,
he served as Ghana's ambassador and permanent representative at the United
Nations in New York City, heading the world body's committee against apartheid.
Mr. Awoonor was a gifted writer and
passionate promoter of African literature through his critical scholarship. His
book of crit
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