Matilda Amissah-Arthur, wife of late former Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, gave an emotional and unusual tribute to her late husband during a state funeral service in Accra on Friday.
The widow also used the opportunity to take on critics of Amissah-Arthur when he was alive describing them as “hypocrites.”
“Did people really know my husband? The lies, the accusations, the maligning?” she queried.
ALSO: AUDIO+VIDEO: Mrs Amissah-Arthur spits fire in tribute to husband
Amissah-Arthur died on June 29, 2018, after he collapsed at the Airforce Gym in Accra during a workout session.
He will be buried at the military cemetery in Accra.
Below is Amissah-Arthur’s tribute:
To my soul mate, my best friend, my roommate and my prayer partner
Forty years and five months we lived together. A thousand tears won’t bring you back, I know because I have cried. In the good times, we rejoiced and thank the Lord. So, I have accepted this great loss and I thank God for your life and what He used you to do.
God has been good to us as a family and you always testified of God’s goodness in our lives. Every morning during our prayer time, you never ceased to thank God for His grace, mercy and favour.
You loved the Lord deeply and, whatever you did, you did it as unto the Lord. You spent time studying the Bible over and over. In recent years, you took to reading the not so popular books of the Bible and you enjoyed discussing them. During our Wednesday morning Bible studies, you would come up with very deep insights into the passages we read.
Our relationship got better with age. So much so that, if the children asked one of us for advice without the other being there, often times our answers would be similar. We shared a closeness that was a source of amusement to our friend and family.
People wondered why we were always chit chatting when we went out to functions and even at church. Our children laughed at us often, remarking that, even at public functions, our heads were often together. I will miss your great sense of humour – you could tease like nobody’s business. With most people who knew you well, there is some story or some inside joke to share.
You were the life and soul of my book launch on Wednesday 27th June. A soon as you arrived at the venue, you began mingling and chatting with our guests. During the programme, you kept teasing me about how I had waited till my old age before writing a book.
At the reception after the launch, you took photographs with anyone who asked, even though it is well known that you did not like taking photographs.
When I asked that we go home, you were busily engaged in some banter with old friends and you asked to go ahead, saying that you would follow shortly. You were one of the last to leave. Many times you said that you did not go into politics, but that politics found you.
As a technocrat, you took your work seriously and discharged your duties as best as you cold. We often discussed how we could get people to think about Ghana first, stop being partisan and also give back to society.
Above all else, you proved to all that one could be a Christian and rise to the highest position without soiling one’s hands. I will always remember how, at Apostle Jude Hama’s book launch in May, you encouraged Christians to get into politics to help share our country.
You were so many things to so many people, constantly giving selflessly to others. If we needed a reminder of this, we have it in the outpouring of love shown us since 29th June. People from all walks have come to visit and sympathize with us.
The way you were called by the Lord is befitting of how you conducted yourself in life – quietly, privately, and without any fuss. You left you mark – a simple, honest, principled, hardworking man of integrity. I am very proud of you. I know that in life you touched so many people, so I pray that your memory will also impact and empower generations.
As my heart bleeds, I am comforted by knowing that you finished your work on this earth and the Lord called you home to rest in glory. So, with Andrae Crouch, I say:
“I have had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow,
There’s been times I didn’t know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
That my trials come only to make me strong.
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.”
You are so wonderful to think of, and so hard to be without.
My dearest, we will surely meet again on the Lord’s side.