Rawlings bids farewell to Adumua-Bossman; his lead counsel in 1979 trial

Former President Rawlings has paid a glowing tribute to his William Adumua-Bossman, who was laid to rest today after final funeral rites were held at the forecourt of the State House.

The former President was joined by many including President Akufo-Addo, Ministers both past and present, lawyers and well-wishers.

In a post on his Facebook wall, former President Rawlings described the late Williams Adumua-Bossman as "a champion of the underprivileged - a man who maintained a simple and modest lifestyle"

He also hailed him as one who "did not partake in the exploitation of the pursuit of justice" especially as a legal practitioner.

William Adumua-Bossman was lead counsel of former President Rawlings' legal team which included celebrated lawyer, Tsatsu Tsikata when he was put on trial on May 15, 1979, after an attempted coup.

Find the full tribute of Former President Rawlings below

I joined hundreds of mourners including President Nana Akufo Addo to bid a final farewell to Lawyer William Adumua-Bossman at the Forecourt of the State House on Friday. Below is my tribute to a distinguished personality.

For many Ghanaians, Lawyer William Adumua-Bossman was the head of the legal team, which included Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata that defended me when I was arrested and put on trial on May 15, 1979.

To me, however, Lawyer Adumua-Bossman was a champion of the underprivileged – A man who maintained a simple and modest lifestyle. His ability to empathise with others was so intense. He could have been as wealthy as many in his profession but he chose to pursue cases for people who could not afford to pay for their legal fees.

Our dearly departed clearly appreciated the extent to which legal fees put justice out of the reach of people who were being exploited and cheated in so many different ways and dedicated his career to defending and protecting such vulnerable people.

Lawyer Adumua-Bossman was very much a witness to the injustice that led to our country’s decline. In his own gracious way he contributed what he could in taking up the defence of cases in the name of justice, to do justice to an issue. As to whether he was being paid or not was irrelevant. He did not partake in the exploitation of the pursuit of justice.

Lawyer Adumua-Bossman was human. He was known for it and we respected him for it.

Fare thee well Sir. You left a positively indelible mark or many souls.