Parliament shocked over John Kumah’s sudden death

Parliament, on Thursday, March 7, 2024 abruptly adjourned sitting when news about the death of the Member of Parliament for Ejisu, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah broke out. The House was debating the State of the Nation Address (SONA) presented to Parliament last week by President Akufo-Addo, but was compelled to end the business of the day.

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, rose and asked the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to suspend sitting for ten minutes.

“Mr. Speaker, if you may be pleased, may we take some ten minutes of suspension? Mr Speaker, ten minutes suspension,” the Effutu MP beseeched the Speaker. Though he did not state why, the Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, supported the call by the Majority Leader, convincing the Speaker to suspend the sitting. It was, however, not clear if the Minority MP was aware of the reason before seconding the call for suspension.

He said, “Mr. Speaker, the leader of the House is calling for suspension for leadership to confer, so I know it is in order.”The Speaker then announced that “sitting is accordingly suspended.”

ABRUPT ADJOURNMENT

The Majority Leader’s prayer on the floor for suspension was at a time when social media had been awash with reports of the demise of their colleague MP from Ejisu, who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Finance, John Kumah.

While the leaders of the House had gone into conclave, members on the floor began to murmur among themselves, and the mood in the House changed, depicting sorrow and uncertainty.

The ten-minute suspension lasted almost 20 minutes, but upon their return, the House could only put a question on a critical bill on the composition of the committee to advise the Speaker on the selection of board members for the Parliamentary Service Board.

“Mr. Speaker, members have indicated that there are some other engagements, and leadership is in agreement. So, Mr. Speaker, we will just deal with one item; it is just a question left to be put and then we can pray for adjournment,” the Majority Leader, Afenyo-Markin said.

Seconding the motion for the question to be put and subsequently adjournment, the Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, said, “As has been discussed, judging from the mood of the House, it will be better we suspend the debate on the SONA.

However, to close the day, we just want you to go to the order paper addendum and put the question on the adoption of the report on the composition of the committee to advise you on the board membership.”

After going through that item, the Speaker said, “Honourable Members, for good reason, the House will have to adjourn. And so, I move straight away to adjourn the House until tomorrow at ten in the fore noon. The House is adjourned.”

JOHN KUMAH

The Ejisu legislator, Dr. John Kumah, passed away at age 45, in the early hours of Thursday, March 7, 2024 after a short illness. He was survived by his wife, Apostle Mrs. Lilian Kumah, and six children.

Dr. Kumah served as the first Chief Executive Officer for the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), helping to position NEIP as a key player in Ghana’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Under his leadership, reports say NEIP trained 7,000 startups in 2018 through the Presidential Business Support Programme and provided financial support to 1,350 beneficiaries.

He was a founding member and managing partner of Aduaprokye Chambers, a law firm, and also established Majak Associates Ltd., a building and construction company.

Apart from his professional achievements, Dr. Kumah was recognised for his educational accomplishments, including a Doctorate in Business Innovation from the Swiss Business School in Switzerland and a Masters in Applied Business Research.

Dr. John Kumah was recently acclaimed as the parliamentary candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party in Ejisu, which would have been his third term as MP for the area.