The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is mourning the death of its Upper West Regional Chairman, Dr Saanbaye Basilide Kangbere.

Dr Kangbere, popularly known as Chairman Heavy Weight passed away at his home in Adjringano in Accra on Friday, June 7, 2024.

In honour of his memory, all party flags have been directed to fly at half-mast for the next seven days.

The NPP in a statement recounted Dr Kangbere’s dedication to the party.

The party said he never allowed his background to limit him as he successfully passed his Common Entrance Examinations in Owlo, a small town in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa district of the Upper West Region to study at the prestigious Daffiama Secondary School.

“Mr. Kangbere would again achieve another academic milestone as he passed with distinction, his Sixth Form Examinations before gaining admission to be trained as a teacher in a College of Education and subsequently to the University of Ghana where he majored in English.

“As fate would have it, Mr. Kangbere would develop a relentless passion for politics and other matters of social concern while studying at the University of Ghana and became part of student activist groups. Upon his election as Secretary of the Students Representatives Council, he would team up with young men like Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay from 1977 to1978, and fearlessly opposed clandestine attempts by the Supreme Military Council of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong to impose the so-called Union Government (UNIGOV) on Ghanaians,” the statement read.

The party highlighted Dr Kangbere’s several ventures, including teaching and business.

“In the most part of his adult life, he taught for several years in numerous deprived communities in the Upper West Region and Nigeria, and later in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. He also set up several English teaching schools in Saudi Arabia, some of which are still operational.

“Mr. Kangbere was a devoted Catholic, husband, father of five and also a noble family man on whose shoulders several people from across the length and breadth of Ghana and even beyond were nurtured,” it eulogised.

Despite the big blow of his death, the NPP said it takes solace in Dr Kangbere’s legacy of hard work and dedication.

The party further extended condolences to the bereaved family, particularly his wife and children, and the people of the Upper West Region for the loss of such a great son of the land.