PHOTOS: Four times high-ranking leaders in Ghana have knelt before priests, chiefs

A handshake, a hug or even a bow could mean more to people deserving of honour or respect, especially in the Ghanaian society.

In fact, in some parts of the country, greeting a chief or a king would mean that you shake their hand with both of yours, also as a form of respect.

But in the most extreme cases, people go on their knees as their humble offering of reverence to someone or to a person in a higher office.

In this article, GhanaWeb brings to you a few times that some revered personalities in Ghana have been captured in a rather interesting, reverse situation, showing their reverence to particularly religious priests and while on their knees.

We begin with the Asantehene:

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II

Over the past weekend, GhanaWeb chanced upon a rare image of the revered Asante King, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, online.

In the image, the king is seen on his knees, receiving special prayers in church from the Archbishop of Canterbury in England, Justin Welby.

According to additional online information, the archbishop welcomed the King of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana to the Lambeth Palace on August 1, 2014.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is an Anglican by faith, was on a private visit to the United Kingdom and requested an official visit with Archbishop Justin Welby.

He was clad in beautiful traditional kente and in solemn mood before the man of God.

As scripture will have it in James 5:16; “For the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails.”

See the images and video below:

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

In the case of the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in February 2021, he attended the Installation and Enthronement ceremony of Rt. Rev Dr. Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana, at Asante-Mampong, in the Ashanti Region on Saturday, 27th February 2021.

After the ceremony, the president was captured in a photo that saw him on his knees, surrounded by over 15 priests, even as they said a word of prayer for him.

Also at the ceremony, the president broke his silence on the issue of same-sex intimate relations in the country, declaring that his administration will never legalize same-sex marriage in the country.

“It will not be under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legalized in Ghana; it will never happen in my time as president,” he reiterated, having earlier posited same in an interview on foreign news media, Al Jazeera, in 2017.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

In January 2021, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and his wife, Samira Bawumia, were captured in a photo together, on their knees before a priest during a church service.

Ordinarily, this would not have caused so much of an only stir but because the two are Muslims by faith, it really got a lot of people talking.

They had joined the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Bantama Assemblies of God Church and Power Chapel Worldwide in Kumasi for the December 31 watchnight service.

Going on their knees allowed them to receive blessings from the priest of the parish.

Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings

The late former president of Ghana, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, must have been known for being tough and a daring person but one other thing that was well-know about him was his respect for customs and traditions.

In a photo that emerged online in November 2019, the former president was seen on his knee while addressing a chief.

It is unclear at what event this was at but it is believed that the event was a funeral, owing to the colour of outfits worn by the people in the shot.