Ghana's former President Nana Akufo-Addo to visit Bondo to honour Raila

Former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo addresses a past event. [File, Standard]

Former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo is expected in Bondo on Wednesday to pay his respects to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Akufo-Addo said his trip to Bondo was a personal mission to honour the memory of a friend, comrade and fellow believer in the promise of African democracy.

On Tuesday, the former president attended the Democracy Union of Africa (DUA) and International Democracy Union (IDU) conference in Nairobi, where he delivered a keynote address on democratic resilience and Africa’s economic independence.

Raila was was widely celebrated as a Pan-African icon who championed good governance and people-centered development across the continent.

Akufo-Addo’s visit also rekindles the historic ties between Ghana and Kenya, nations whose founding fathers, Kwame Nkrumah and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, were central figures in Africa’s struggle for independence and unity.

Beyond the political symbolism, the trip carries a strong personal connection.

Raila’s sister, Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga, is married to Nana Busia, a Ghanaian national.

Ruth described Akufo-Addo’s planned visit to Bondo as diplomatic and deeply emotional.

"President Akufo-Addo’s visit to Bondo is both a diplomatic gesture and a homecoming to the soil of a fellow Pan-Africanist,” she said.

She said that the Odinga and Nkrumah legacies remind them that Africa’s journey toward unity and progress must remain anchored in mutual respect and people-to-people bonds

The former president is expected to attend a brief ceremony at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi, where Raila was laid to rest, before he meets the Odinga family and local leaders.