Ghana’s 1st female COP signing the book of condolence for the late Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings
The state funeral of the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who passed away on October 23, 2025, is slated for Friday, November 28, 2025.
One thing the late former First Lady will be remembered for, as indicated in the official announcement of her state funeral, is her “invaluable contributions to the advancement of the rights of women and children in Ghana.”
The late Agyeman-Rawlings, who broke many glass ceilings, including being the first woman to form a political party in Ghana and the first female presidential candidate of the country, redefined the role of the First Lady in Ghana from a mere symbolic position to one of active leadership and advocacy, especially for women.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Lydia Yaakoo Donkor, recently opened up about the role the late former First Lady played in her mother becoming the first female COP of Ghana.
According to the CID boss, during the era of her mother, COP Jane Christie Donkor, the highest rank a female could attain in the Ghana Police Service was the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank.
She said that her mother and another female police officer went to meet the late Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who was the First Lady then, to share their plight with her.
COP Yaakoo Donkor indicated that the former First Lady, who was the wife of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, took the matter upon herself and, with her “influence and support,” the country got its first female Commissioner of Police — the highest rank in the Ghana Police Service.
“My mother’s presence carried deep meaning. She holds the honour of being the first female police officer in Ghana to attain the rank of Commissioner of Police. Her story is deeply linked to that of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who in 1992 championed her promotion from Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP).
“During that period, Assistant Commissioner of Police was the last rank a senior female police officer could attain, after which they had to retire. My mother and her colleague, COP Gifty Anin Botwe (rtd), appealed to the then First Lady, whose lifelong advocacy for women’s empowerment opened new doors for women in the Ghana Police Service. Through her influence and support, my mother broke that barrier, becoming the first female DCOP, and later, the first female Commissioner of Police (COP),” the CID post wrote on X on October 30, 2025, after they visited the family of the late former First Lady to commiserate with them.
Meet the Donkors: The first mother and daughter to each be COPs of the Ghana Police Service
About the first female COP
COP Christie Donkor (rtd) became the first female COP in 2001. She was also the first female Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Before she was appointed a COP, the highest rank any woman could attain in the police was the DCOP position.
She was enlisted as a Chief Inspector into the then Special Branch of the Ghana Police Service, now the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) in 1970, and rose through the ranks to become a COP.
She played a key role in the formation of the Police Ladies Association (POLAS). She also advocated for the recruitment of more women into the police service to ensure gender balance in the law enforcement institution.
She held various positions, among which included Commissioner, Welfare, and Officer in Charge of Training at the National Police Training School (NPTS), Tesano.
She also saw to the restructuring of the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POLWA), which was at the time limited only to wives of senior police officers, to include wives of junior-ranking personnel.
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