Kufuor: Rawlings contained his reservations about me

Ghana's former President John Kufuor has said he was "deeply saddened" by Thursday's death of his immediate predecessor Jerry John Rawlings at the age of 73.

He and Mr Kufuor were ideological opponents and rarely saw eye to eye.

Rawlings, Ghana's longest serving head of state, refused to attend the country's celebrations marking 50 years of independence in 2007 because he accused then-President Kufuor of oppressing Ghanaians.

But in his statement, Mr Kufuor praised Rawlings' willingness to relinquish power in 2001 after his two terms were up.

He "obviously tried to contain whatever reservations he had about me and my government".

Reviewing Rawlings' nearly two decades in power, Mr Kufuor said "even though it wasn't always [that] he and I agreed on many matters of state - I felt he was trying to do the best he knew and could, under his peculiar circumstances".

He will be remembered for "contributing to the sustenance of democratic governance" in Ghana, Mr Kufuor added.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP