Awoonor's funeral: No public viewing of remains - Family

Family of renowned Ghanaian poet, the late Kofi Awoonor, who was killed in the Westgate Mall in Kenya, say there will be no public viewing of his body during the burial service.

Prof. Awoonor, who was in the company of his son, Afetsi Awoonor, was shot dead by a Somali Islamic extremist group, Al-Shabab, which attacked shoppers at the Westgate Mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Saturday, September 21, 2013.

The family will have a private burial ceremony at the late poet’s premises on the 3rd of October. This is will be followed by a state sponsored burial on the 11th of October.

He will be finally laid to rest in his hometown, Wheta in the Volta Region on the 9th of November.

Even before his demise, Prof. Awoonor, had written his biography and instructed his family on how his funeral should be organized according to spokesperson of the family, Kofi Anyidoho.

Prof. Awoonor’s wife and two children who are outside the country are expected to arrive soon.

Kofi Awoonor was not only a poet, but also a former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations.

Awoonor's work drew its inspiration from the traditions of his native Ewe tribe. He went into exile after Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was driven out in a coup in 1966.

He studied at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his dissertation was published in 1975.

He returned to Ghana and was later jailed for alleged involvement coup plot. His time in prison was recounted in The House by the Sea (1978).

His body is expected to arrive in Ghana at 11:15 Wednesday morning.