The family of Kofi Annan has hinted the departed former UN Secretary -General and Nobel laureate will be buried in Ghana.
According to a statement by the family on Thursday, “The Government of Ghana will shortly announce the arrangements for a State ceremony, which will take place in Accra.”
This will be followed by UN memorial events in New York and Geneva.
“The dates for those events will be announced in due course,” the statement added.
“The family has kindly asked that no flowers be sent. For those still wishing to have their thoughts and support reflected in a gift, they suggest a contribution to the Kofi Annan Foundation:www.kofiannanfoundation.org/donate,” it stated.
The Annan family expressed gratitude to the “many who have expressed their condolences following the passing of Kofi Annan. The family has found great solace in the outpouring of love and support.”
Mr Annan,80, died in Berne, Switzerland at the hospital on Saturday, 18 August.
There has been a swathe of eulogy and outpouring of grief from world leaders and celebrities since Mr Annan’s passing.
Current UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed him as “a guiding force for good” and Russian President Vladimir Putin described a “remarkable person”.
Ex-US President Barack Obama said Annan had always pursued “a better world”.
The Ghanaian national served as UN chief from 1997 to 2006 and is the only black African ever to hold the post.
Mr Guterres led the tributes to his predecessor. “In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organisation into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination,” he said in a statement.
UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a tweet he was grief-stricken over Annan’s death:
