A former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Most Rev. Dr Samuel Asante-Antwi has called on the nine Supreme Court justices sitting on the election petition to ensure that they deliver true justice to ensure lasting peace in the country.

He said Ghanaians should pray for the nine justices for God’s wisdom so that they would give a ruling that would stand the test of time without fear or favour and help protect Ghana’s “enviable” democracy.

“Ghana is indeed the beacon of Africa in terms of democracy, and a lot of African countries are prepared to follow Ghana’s example to ensure that violence is not used to resolve election disputes,” he said, adding that because of what Ghana has demonstrated to the world, Zimbabwe, which has a volatile political environment, has decided to go Ghana’s way by using the court to settle its electoral dispute.

“We are indeed blessed as a country and; therefore, there was the need for the people of this country to unite to help harness the nation’s abundant resources for the accelerated development of the country.”

Most Rev Asante-Antwi made the observations at Koforidua in the Eastern Region at the weekend when he presided over the burial service of a strong political ‘guru’ from the Eastern Region, Malone MacStephen Yao Boateng who was a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the first regional chairman of the party who died at the age of 97 in April this year.

He indicated that there was one thing that he knew will result from this election petition no matter what decision the court made and that is reconciliation and electoral reforms.

In attendance at the funeral were all the political gurus of the NPP including the party’s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; its National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey; National Campaign Manager for the 2012 Elections, Boakye Agyarko; a former Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang; a former Local Government Minister, Stephen Asamoah Boateng; a former Eastern Regional Minister, Yaw Barimah; the Eastern Regional Chairman of the party, Dr Samuel Annor; party communicators, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah and Sammy Awuku as well as the majority of NPP MPs from the Eastern Region and other regions.

Also in attendance was a delegation from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government including the Eastern Regional Organizer of the party, Bismark Tawiah Boateng; the Regional Minister, Helen Adjoa Ntoso and her Deputy, Mavis Ama Frimpong and other party officials from the region as well as the Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Antwi Boasiako Sekyere.

Rev Asante-Antwi described Mr Malone Boateng as a principled politician who strongly abhorred bribery and corruption as well as mediocrity.

“Mr Malone MacStephen Yao Boateng whom we affectionately called MMY was a freedom fighter who strongly stood against one-party rule by Dr Kwame Nkrumah resulting in his incarceration at the Ussher Fort for four and half years under the Preventive Detention Act in the 1960s,” he said.

According to Dr Asante-Antwi, the late Boateng dedicated himself to the growth of democracy in the country and served his country and party loyally.

In a tribute to the late Yao Boateng, the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo said the late Boateng helped tremendously in shaping his political life.

“He had a huge influence on my political life, and I am so much grateful to him,” he said, stressing that contemporary NPP faithful must learn a lot from the ‘fathers’ of the party who sacrificed their everything for the growth of the party and served the people of the nation patriotically.

The NPP delegation donated an amount of GHc6,000 towards the funeral while their NDC counterparts donated GHc1,000.

There was a moment of oneness as the NDC officials exchanged pleasantries with their NPP counterparts at the funeral grounds.

MMY Boateng was the father of the immediate past NPP MP for New Juaben South in the Eastern Region, Madam Beatrice Bernice Boateng.