The first female general of the Ghana Army Forces (GAF), Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu, who died at the 37 Military Hospital on 24 January 2022, following a short illness, will be laid to rest on Friday 25 March 2022.
Paramount Chief of Avatime Traditional Area in the Volta region, Osie Adza Tekpor VII, disclosed this when he led a delegation to the Jubilee House, to officially inform President Akufo-Addo, on the arrangement made by the family of the late army general to perform her final funeral rights.
Distinguished citizen
President Akufo-Addo after welcoming the delegation to his office said by virtue of his position as President, he receives a whole series of news, some positive and some sad, however, the news about the death of Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu, is “one of the saddest news” he has had to receive.
He described the late general as a very distinguished woman and citizen of Ghana and that, following the news of her death, he had a telephone call from the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, who extended the condolences of the UN to Ghana.
For the President, the UN Secretary General’s gesture demonstrates the impact that the late Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu, had on the UN body and on the international stage.
President Akufo-Addo, assured the delegation and family of the late general that he will offer them all the support they need as they pay their last respect to the late general.
Rise through the ranks
Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, the highest position ever held by a woman in the Ghana Armed Forces, on 7 March 2016.
she was first commissioned into the armed forces on 25 April 1980 as a second lieutenant after 18 months of regular training at the Ghana Military Academy.
On completion of her initial training, she undertook regimental training by serving as platoon commander to the 2nd Battalion of Infantry in 1980, after which she was posted as platoon commander and adjutant to the 3rd Border Guards Battalion from 1981 to 1982.
She was subsequently appointed a general staff officer grade 3 in charge of training and personnel at the Border Guards Headquarters (1983-84) and then moved to become adjutant of the Border Guards Training School in Kpetoe in 1984.
In 1995 she was appointed second-in-command of the Ghana Armed Forces Pay Regiment and in 1999 rose to become commanding officer. She was the first woman to occupy any of these postings in the Ghana Armed Forces.
New York to Nimba
In 2013 Edjeani-Afenu became the first woman to be named as deputy military advisor (DMILAD) to Ghana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, based in New York City, a post she retained until 2016.
In 2016, while still serving as DMILAD, she was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, becoming the first woman ever to be made a general of the Ghana Armed Forces.
She also served as the Armed Forces representative to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
Brigadier General Edjeani-Afenu further participated in UN peacekeeping operations under the banner of GHANBATT (the Ghana Battalion) in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL; 1994 and 1998), the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO; 2007) and the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL; 2009).
Wilberforce Asare
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