Ghanaian president speaks out against George Floyd killing

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Adda has spoken out against the killing of George Floyd in a tweet on Monday. Publishing a picture of Floyd along with a written statement, his message of solidarity with America’s black community was clear. 

He writes: ‘Black people, the world over, are shocked and distraught by the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer in the United States of America’. 

President Akufo-Adda continues by making a pointed reference to his country’s own oppressive colonial past, writing “[Floyd’s killing] carries with it an all too painful familiarity, and an ugly reminder”. 

“We stand with our kith and kin in America in these difficult and trying times, and we hope that the unfortunate, tragic death of George Floyd will inspire a lasting change in how America confronts head on the problems of hate and racism."

It is clear from the President’s response that George Floyd’s killing has sent shockwaves far out of America’s borders, and is sparking a worldwide conversation on institutional racism and police brutality. 

President Akufo-Adda writes: “It cannot be right that, in the 21st century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grabble with the problem of systematic racism”. 

Whether America’s reputation as a “great bastion of democracy” will hold is yet to be seen. The country is currently gripped by protests and rioting, and President Trump’s response has been viewed by some commentators to be stoking the racial tensions, using military force against unarmed protestors. 

Photo: ClassFM