The family of the late President Jerry John Rawlings has expressed deep appreciation to the government and people of Burkina Faso for naming a major street in Ouagadougou after the former Ghanaian President.
The tribute, unveiled on Sunday, May 18, 2025, was described by the family as a powerful recognition of Rawlings’s enduring legacy in the struggle for social justice and Pan-African solidarity.
In a statement signed by Ms. Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings on behalf of the family and the JJ Rawlings Foundation, the family extended their “sincere appreciation” to Burkina Faso’s transitional government, particularly Prime Minister Dr Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélèm de Tambèla, for the “profound honour.”
“This is a moving tribute not just to the legacy of our father, but to the enduring bonds of solidarity that unite Ghana and Burkina Faso,” the statement read. “We are immensely grateful that the name Jerry John Rawlings will now live on in the heart of Ouagadougou.”
The family said the recognition was a reminder of Rawlings’s historic relationship with the late Captain Thomas Sankara, with whom he shared a vision of African self-reliance, dignity, and justice. “This honour affirms their brotherhood and mutual commitment to an Africa free from oppression and poverty,” the statement noted.
They also thanked the Burkinabè people for embracing Rawlings as one of their own and for recognising his contributions to the continent. “We are especially touched by the warmth, respect and admiration shown to him by ordinary Burkinabè citizens throughout the years,” it added.
The newly named avenue runs from Avenue Jean-Paul II to Boulevard Capitaine Thomas Sankara, symbolically connecting two figures celebrated for their revolutionary ideals.
The family further commended the government for the inauguration of a mausoleum in memory of Sankara and his twelve fallen comrades, describing the gesture as an “act of justice and remembrance that restores dignity to the past and hope to the future.”
Concluding, the Rawlings family reiterated their commitment to upholding the ideals of their late patriarch through the work of the JJ Rawlings Foundation, pledging to continue promoting leadership, integrity, and Pan-Africanism. “May this avenue stand not only as a tribute but as a reminder of the values both men fought for,” the statement affirmed.