A former aide to the late former president, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, has recounted an encounter of his first time seeing the former military ruler cry over what he believed was a situation he could have helped make better.
Victor Smith, who worked with Rawlings for many years, and speaking with Joy News, said that even for him, he never imagined the man could shed a tear, talkless of crying but when news got to him one day about a close friend he believed he had failed in life, he broke down in tears.
“I saw him weep like a baby because someone called him to tell him about a very close friend that I believe he felt he had failed to help in life. That was the first time I had seen him like that because I thought he was too courageous to even shed a tear for anything,” he disclosed.
He added that while Rawlings remained a very courageous person, he equally had a very soft spot for the general well-being of humanity and that death had cut short those desires.
“He is not perfect, he is only human. He may have committed errors in his life, he may have hurt people in trying to, as it were, stir the revolution,” he said, eulogizing his former boss.
He said that that encounter with the former statesman, seeing him cry like that, made him appreciate more, why he worked so tirelessly for humanity.
Victor Smith had earlier stated that it was difficult for him to come to terms with the death of Jerry Rawlings, especially since his former boss had had some close encounters with death but always stood firm until he retired from active public life.
He added that the late former president loved life and would have wanted to live longer.
“He took great risks in bringing about the revolution and sustaining it for over 10 years. He had some close encounters with ‘death’ at different times during his adult life until he retired from the high office of the head of state,” he said.
Admitting that while President Rawlings was committed to social justice and always worked towards providing decent livelihoods for people, he had his faults and his imperfections which negatively affected some people.
The former late president, Jerry John Rawlings, died on Thursday, November 12, 2020, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness and has since been buried at the new Military Cemetary in Accra.