And The Speaker Went Dumb! ? As Terry Bonchaka Rides ?Home?

The Microphone-Shaped Casket Containing Terry?s Mortal Remains Honourable Peter Ala Adjetey, the Speaker of Parliament, went dumb last Friday and Saturday as he mourned the death of his grandson, Terry Adjetey Bonchaka, at the forecourt of the International Trade Fair Site.

The Speaker could not bellow his usual ?Order! Order!? as the massive crowd went ?crazy? mourning the late Terry Bonchaka, the young music icon who had in the past brought great joy to them.

While some wept uncontrollably, others sang and danced along with numerous hiplife artistes who were there to pay their last respects to their colleague, friend, family members, schoolmate and favourite musician. Yet others went on procession around the Trade Fair environs, singing and dancing to ?dzama? songs.

Among these groups were Adisadel Old Boys, who sang the school?s ode and other songs and performed gimmicks peculiar to their school, making the wake-keeping a very sorrowful affair. Motor cyclists, skaters and others, some quite rowdy, all helped to make the wake a memorable one.

The din quite uncontrollable could not be stopped with the Speaker?s ?Order!, Order!? which gets Parliament quiet when members become noisy or argumentative. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey was oblivious to the noise and the somewhat organised ?confusion? around him.

The wake for Terry attracted one of the biggest crowds in the country?s history as far as funerals are concerned but mercifully, apart from a few incidents where sometimes people ran as in the case where it was alleged that tear gas had been thrown, it was generally a peaceful evening.

Dressed in a beautiful Kente suit with a comb stuck in his hair in a typical Terry Bonchaka costume, Terry lay in state under a canopy nicely decorated, offering the public the opportunity to file pass the body. Several fans in what has come to be known as the ?Terry Bonckaka Wear,? thrilled pockets of the crowd with an imitation of his presentation style.

While others listened to the hiplife musicians sing and dance, some just stood taking in the action in deep sorrow. The crowd stayed till the wee small hours of Saturday, bringing the pressure on the burial programme ? which had a reduced attendance ? down.

The Saturday programme was a more sober affair though the hiplife artistes and other musicians together with disc jockeys and radio presenters kept the music and jokes flowing.

After various activities which comprised family rites, filing past the body, musical interludes, a biographical sketch, tributes from the parents, aunties, cousins and MUSIGA and prayers, the body was interred at the La cemetery.

Lying in a casket designed like a microphone, the late hiplife icon Terry Bonchaka was carried by his schoolmates (Santaclausians) to the cemetery in a procession.

While part of the crowd went to the cemetery, others stayed behind to watch more musicians perform. After the burial, the musicians continued to perform until they ended around 5pm. bringing the funeral to a close.