Funeral For Professor Mills Begins Today As 14 Heads Of State And Governments Confirm Participation

The three day state funeral for Professor Mills commences today. The family of the late President will inspect his body this morning at the 37 Military Hospital. He will later be laid in state at the Banquet Hall in Accra. President John Mahama will be the first to file past the casket after which other dignitaries and the public will have the opportunity to file past the remains of the late Professor. The national capital is already draped in red and black colours while flags still fly at half mast. A number of roads will be closed to traffic during the three day funeral. Meanwhile, all is set for the funeral of Professor Mills. Radio Ghana's correspondent who went round town on Tuesday observed that preparations at the Geese Park and the Independence Square have reached an advanced stage. Ahead of the start of the three-day funeral of Professor Mills today, most streets and buildings in the capital have been decorated with red and black cloths signifying the state of mourning. In a related development, Fourteen African Heads of state and Governments have so far confirmed to attend the funeral of the late President, John Evans Atta Mills. The President of Benin and AU Chairman, Thomas Yayi Boni will lead the AU delegation which will include the newly elected Chairperson of the AU Commission, Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma. The ECOWAS delegation will be led by the Chairman and President of Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara. US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton will represent the Obama administration during the funeral. Some of the Heads of State are Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbassogo of Equatorial Guinea, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Deputy President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania. The rest are Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Mackay Sall of Senegal, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, Yahya Jammeh of Gambia and Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso. More delegations are yet to confirm their attendance.