Post date: Aug 10, 2012 4:14:57 PM
ACCRA, GHANA (AUGUST 10, 2012) (REUTERS) - Thousands of Ghanaians clad in traditional red-and-black mourning cloth paid last respects on Friday (August 10) to Ghana's late President John Atta Mills, who died suddenly after helping transform his nation into one of Africa's fastest growing economies.
Thousands of Ghanaians follow the coffin of late president John Atta Mills as it is conveyed from the State House to Independence Square for a funeral ceremony.
Crowds of mourning Ghanaians lined the streets of the nation's capital city, Accra, as the coffin carrying the last remains of Mills was carried on a gun carriage followed by wreath bearers from State House to Independence Square, where an official funeral service was held.
Some mourners, many of them weeping had gathered before dawn in Accra's Independence Square to secure a spot for the funeral ceremony.
More than a dozen heads of state, mainly from West Africa, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined thousands of Mills's mourning countrymen for the funeral ceremony.
As part of the funeral ceremony, John Dramani Mahama, Mills's deputy, who has been sworn in as the new president, lit the Perpetual Flame in Independence Square to honour Mills.
Mills, who had been due to stand for re-election in December, died suddenly on July 24. The cause of his death has not yet been disclosed.
Parliament's swearing -in of Mahama as Mills's replacement within hours of the late president's death, removed concerns cover political instability seen elsewhere in Africa following the death in office of a sitting president.
During his term, Mills was credited with guiding Ghana's transformation into the Gulf of Guinea's newest oil exporter, and overseeing one of Africa's fastest growing economies, which is already a major cocoa and gold producer.
While West Africa has seen a number of coups and contested votes in recent years, the smooth transition after Mills's death comes after Ghana was also widely praised for the handling of the tight election in 2008 that brought Mills to power.
Ghana has seen democratic elections decide its leadership no fewer than four times since the last military coup in 1981, a rare feat in a region where power is still just as often determined by the bullet as by the ballot.