A GNA news feature by Benjamin Commey
Accra, Jan. 15, GNA – The name, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, KAA for short, has been a long standing one in Ghanaian political circles, having served as Press Secretary and Spokesperson to former President John Agyekum Kufuor from 2001 to 2006.
As a young Political Activist, he played a frontal role during the general election with Professor Adu-Boahene as NPP Flagbearer, in 1992.
In 2008, he was the youngest of 17 aspirants who contested for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearership to replace former President Kufuor as presidential candidate for the 2008 general election.
Many Ghanaians, therefore, were not, surprised when he hinted of contesting for the flagbearership of the Party once again for the 2024 general election.
His campaign strategy— social media marketing, institutional engagements and engagement of NPP grassroots- appears to be very visible across the country, especially the streets of the national capital, with his imposing large bill boards.
Kwabena Agyei Agyepong was born on March 6, 1962, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region of Ghana, to Lawyer Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong and Mrs Margaret Agyepong, a Stenographer Secretary.
Kwabena Agyei Agyepong had his primary education at Royal International School in Kumasi where he topped the Common Entrance Examinations and gained admission to the famous Mfanstipim School, Cape Coast, where he passed his O–Levels with Distinction in 1979.
He continued at Mfantsipim for his A-Level education and was appointed the Library Prefect. After completing his A-Levels in 1981, he gained admission to the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi to study Civil Engineering.
It was during his first year at university that tragedy struck. His father, Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong was tragically one of the three High Court Judges who were abducted and savagely murdered together with a retired Army Officer during curfew hours on June 30, 1982, six months into the 31st December Revolution led by the then retired Air Force Officer Jerry John Rawlings.
With no one to turn to, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong struggled his way through college to earn his BSc Degree (Civil Engineering) in 1986.
He defied the trauma of the tragic personal loss with mental fortitude, endurance and “divine inspiration”.
Later on, he earned an MSc Degree with Distinction in Water and Environmental Engineering from the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
A Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineering GhIE, and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, Kwabena Agyepong is a Consulting Engineer with expert knowledge in Environmental, Water and Sanitation Engineering.
He posses wide-ranging experience in Project Management from Concept Planning, Design, Procurement, Construction Supervision, Project Commissioning and Asset Management spanning over three decades.
Kwabena Agyepong remarkably combined his professional engineering career with his other loves – sports broadcasting and politics.
He became a celebrity in Ghana having anchored the primetime ‘Sports Highlights’ TV show on the only national network – the GBC-TV during, which time he attended and covered the Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
His life is underpinned by three main virtues – Service, Sacrifice and Selflessness – a truly timeless legacy instilled in him by his strict father.
His tragic death lit an eternal flame in him and inspired a deep passion for political activism that led him to play a front-line role in the political struggle that returned Ghana from Rawlings’s military dictatorship to democratic constitutional rule as the 4th Republic was birthed.
Kwabena Agyepong’s longstanding dedicated service to the NPP is a matter of public record having availed himself to the Party, especially during the times of adversity from the Adu Boahen era in 1992 through to the historic victory of December 2000 that brought J.A. Kufuor to the Presidency.
In 2001, Kwabena Agyepong was appointed Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, a position he held with excellence till May 2006.
In July 2008, he was decorated by President Kufuor with the Officer of the Order of Volta, OV.
In April 2014, he was massively elected as the General Secretary of the NPP. His tenure as General Secretary was, however, short-lived due to a raft of allegations and intra-party conflicts.
Kwabena Agyepong has served as the Executive Director of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) and credited with strengthening the institution and making the GhIE more vibrant with a stronger public profile, visibility and increased national and global relevance.
He was recently honored with the highly coveted Federation of African Engineering Organizations FAEO award for distinguished service to FAEO.
Kwabena Agyepong’s life offers an interesting example of a fulfilled life – sports broadcaster, an Engineering consultant and a consummate politician, who is extremely passionate about his party the NPP and Ghana.
His unique life story inspires, educates and explains Ghana’s political structure and the political struggles that define Ghanaians as a determined people albeit with some way to go as the Black Star of Africa.
Ing Kwabena Agyei Agyepong believes it is time for the crack of a New Dawn, New Dimension, New Direction in Ghana’s political landscape and steer the country onto a path of sustainable and meaningful socio econonic development for the underserved population.
He is married to Dr Lawrencia Agyepong, a lecturer at GIJ and the couple are blessed with three children – Kofi, Kwame and Maame Yaa.
GNA