Former President John Agyekum Kufuor (L) and Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé are in-laws
The public often sees glamour, elegance, and heated debates of the political class in the country. But there is a side to the political elite that the public either does not pay attention to, or is not privy to.
Besides, these politicians are humans, just as every other ordinary Ghanaian, and they also have interesting stories, including very personal family stories which the public may not know about.
This article looks at six interesting political relationships that might come as a surprise to a number of Ghanaians.
1. Kufuor is an in-law of Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé:
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the Second President of Ghana’s 4th Republic, is an in-law of the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé.
Former President Kufuor’s daughter, Nana Ama Kufuor, is married to Faure Gnassingbé, who has a number of wives.
The two married while Kufuor was still president around 2005 and have one child together.
Faure Gnassingbé and Nana Ama Kufuor
2. Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe is the uncle of Ibrahim Mahama:
Did you know that President John Dramani Mahama and Ibrahim Mahama are actually half-brothers?
President Mahama’s father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, Ghana’s first Northern Regional Minister, married Joyce Tamakloe, a sister of Ghanaian statesman and New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe.
This means that Ibrahim Mahama is the nephew of Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe.
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe (L) and Ibrahim Mahama
3. Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom has two names
Ghanaian business mogul and politician, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom is also called Joseph Hubster Yorke Jr.
Nduom, Founder of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), was given both names by his father, Joseph Hubster Yorke.
Growing up, he used to be called Joseph Hubster Yorke, but when he travelled to the US, he decided to use his other name, Paa Kwesi Nduom.
4. The Ayariga brothers:
Mahama Ayariga (L) and Hassan Ayariga
Did you also know that the current Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, is a half-brother of the Founder of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga?
The two have the same father, Frank Asumah Abdulai Ayariga, who served as an MP for the then Bawku Constituency from September 1979 to December 1981.
5. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was Prof Ken Attafuah’s best man:
An old photo of Prof Ken Attafuah (L) and Dr Bawumia
Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is a close friend of Prof Ken Attafuah, former Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA).
The two are so close that during Prof Attafuah’s wedding in 1999, the former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2024 Election, who is a Muslim, was his best man.
6. Dr Bawumia’s father was a member of the NDC
Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, the father of former Vice President Bawumia, was a prominent figure in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Alhaji Bawumia served as an MP during Nkrumah’s administration and later as Chairman of the Council of State under Rawlings’ administration.
BAI/AE
