Bongo, a district in Ghana’s Upper East Region, will host a horde of public figures this Saturday, 13 December 2025, as an estimated several thousand mourners gather to give Professor Thomas Mba Akabzaa a Catholic burial at his native Bongo-Dua.
President John Dramani Mahama is expected to honour the event, according to a public statement released Tuesday by Prosper Anaba, media spokesperson for the family of the departed energy expert.
But before Saturday’s funeral gathering takes place, a pre-burial mass will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Legon, an Accra suburb and home to the University of Ghana.
Mourners will file past between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. during the pre-burial mass. Then, the body leaves Accra for Bongo-Dua.
“Prior to the departure of the body to Bongo-Dua, there will be a brief display of culture and tradition to honour the distinguished life and legacy of the late Professor,” added the statement.
The professor’s funeral wake comes off on Friday at his family house in Bongo-Dua before the burial mass and interment follow the next day at St. Augustine Catholic Church and family cemetery respectively.
Prof. Akabzaa was born on Thursday, 31 December 1959, in Bongo-Dua. He died on Thursday, 17 April 2025, in Accra aged 65.
He was a humble philanthropist, widely recognised for his kindness and generosity in Ghana and beyond.
More about Prof. Akabzaa
Prof. Akabzaa held Bachelors and PhD degrees in Geology with Physics and Geology respectively from the University of Ghana, Legon, and a Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering with Mineral Economics specialty from McGill University, Canada.
He also had multiple post graduate diplomas and certificates from several universities and institutions around the globe attesting to his participation in Public Policy, Public Sector Financial Management, Public Sector Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mining Projects Evaluation, Environmental Geochemistry, Mining Environmental Management, Extractive Resource Management, Environmental and Regulatory Monitoring of the Gas and Gas Industry, Liquefied Natural Transactions, Gas Project Management for Senior Executives, Petroleum Economics and Risk Management.
Prof. Akabzaa was an Associate Professor of Geology. He was appointed Chief Director of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy in January 2011, occupying that position until he voluntarily exited in July, 2017, and returned to the Department of Earth Science.
He was adjudged the best-performing Chief Director in Ghana for the years 2013 and 2014. He was also declared second and third best-performing Chief Director in the country in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Prof. Akabzaa was Head of the Department of Geology, University of Ghana from 2008 to 2010, and led his colleagues in the radical revision of the Department’s academic programmes to include professional development courses and new post-graduate programmes in Petroleum Geosciences, Modular Masters programmes in Water Resources and Mineral Exploration.
He was instrumental in the change of the name of that department to Department of Earth Science to reflect its programmes coverage and global trends. He led numerous research and training programmes in several African countries including International Validation of Ghana’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process, training programmes for the Ghanaian, Malian and Sierra Leonean Parliaments and ECOWAS Mining Department.
He was a resource person and a course convener for the Revenue Watch Summer School on Oil and Gas at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He undertook a collaborative research project with the Africa Mining Research Group of the University of Quebec in Montreal, contributing chapters in four high-profile books produced by the group. In total, he had more than 50 publications to his credit, including two books and chapters in ten books.
Prof. Akabzaa served on a number of University of Ghana governing boards and committees. He was member of the Implementation Committee of the University of Energy Natural Resources (UENR) and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), a member and chairman of the search parties for the recruitment of a Vice-Chancellor for the University of Ghana and Rector for the Bolgatanga Polytechnic in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
He served on the Ministry of Finance and Energy Ministerial Advisory Boards. He was the Board Chairman of the West African Pipeline Authority and a member of a number of professional associations.
He also served on a number of governing boards of various state and international corporations and institutions and until his death was the Board Chairman of Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana/West Africa
