<<Print>>

The immediate past head of the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, nearly stole the show yesterday August 31 when he attended a lecture in the capital, Accra addressed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. After his controversial dismissal which drew serious condemnation from sections of the public, the one-time flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party received a rousing welcome, one that can be compared to the return of a hero, at the auditorium of the College of Surgeons and Physicians where policy think tank Danquah Institute held its maiden Liberty Lecture. The first black African heart surgeon was greeted with a standing ovation and loud rounds of applause when he entered the auditorium to listen to his party�s current flagbearer speak on the topic �Building a Society of Aspirations and Opportunities in Ghana � The Path to Prosperity.� The spontaneous warm reception, which saw the hundreds of lecture attendees gathered at the auditorium stretching just to have a look at the Professor, seems to have been triggered by the dignity with which the renowned heart surgeon has handled his abrupt dismissal on August 25 via a letter signed by the Minister of Health. Fallout from his dismissal from the institution he founded included a strike by doctors at the Unit to demand his re-instatement or a proper explanation for his sacking. Eventually it took a personal appeal from the President to get the doctors to return to work, despite a reaffirmation of Prof Frimpong Boateng�s dismissal by the Presidency. The 62 year old surgeon was mobbed by his party members and other members of the public gathered at the auditorium, who encouraged him to stay strong and continue to help train other doctors while saving the lives of people with heart problems.