It is exactly 12-years today since Ghana lost its first sitting president in the history of the Fourth Republic.

Popularly referred to as King of Peace (Asomdwehen), John Evans Atta Mills died after a short illness on 24 July 2012.

Below is how Aljazeera captured the news:

John Atta Mills, Ghana’s president, has died a few hours after being taken ill, a statement from the president’s office and officials said.

Mills, 68, died on Tuesday in the capital Accra and has been succeeded by Vice-President John Dramani Mahama who took the presidential oath hours after the death was announced.

The swift adherence to Ghana’s constitution on succession underlines the country’s reputation as one of the most mature democracies in the region, said commentators.

‘Untimely death’

“It is with a heavy heart… that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president of the Republic of Ghana,” a statement sent to the Reuters news agency by the president’s office said.

John Evans Atta Mills had been to the United States for medical treatment over an undisclosed illness [AFP]
Mills, who had celebrated his 68th birthday last Saturday, had won international praise as the leader of a stable model democracy in Africa.

Ghana remains the only Sub Saharan country that Barack Obama, the US president, has visited as part of recognition for its democratic credentials.

The unexpected death of the leader of the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa comes months before he was due to stand for re-election in December.

Ghana, also a major African gold producer, started pumping oil in 2010 and posted double-digit growth in 2011.

The president’s office said that Mills died a few hours after being taken ill, but no further details were given.