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Rev Fr Col MDK Kumesi (rtd) achieves two childhood dream
Though children dream of practising preferred professions in future, this is often not possible in many instances. However, Rev Fr Col. Matthias Dismas Kwame Kumesi (rtd), a Catholic Priest and former Military Chaplain of the Ghana Armed Forces has been able to attain his childhood dreams of becoming a Catholic Priest and a Military Officer. 
Recalling his early life as a tiny school boy at Baglo in the Oti Region of Ghana, he set out his plans to become a Catholic Priest to follow the footsteps of his maternal uncle, the late Rev Fr Anastasius Dogli, the first Black African Catholic Priest in West Africa who was ordained on July 22, 1922.
According to him, the lifestyle of Rev Fr Dogli inspired him to the extent that his greatest desire was to also become a Catholic priest no matter the obstacles.
Additionally, his encounter with soldiers who served in the Second World War and later came on operation in his region, gave him the urge to study hard to become a military officer as an alternative profession should the first choice fail.
After his priestly ordination in June 1962, he was posted to Ho and later to Jasikan. In January 1965, while still serving at Jasikan, Bishop Anthony Konnins, the then Catholic Bishop of Keta – Ho Diocese informed him that he had been nominated for further studies in France slated for September 1965.
However, when Bishop Anthony Konnins visited the parish at Jasikan to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation, he told him that the original plan had changed and that he would no longer go to France but to be enlisted in the military.
When asked how he got selected to enlist in the Ghana Armed Forces (GFA), he said the GAF made a formal request to the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference to nominate a chaplain to serve in the army.
He said the Archbishop of Cape Coast, John Kodwo Amissah who was the President of the Ghana Bishops’ Conference at the time and his former lecturer at the St Peter’s Regional Seminary, Cape Coast, knew him very well so the Archbishop , handpicked him to fill the vacant position.
Rev Fr Col Kumesi explained that Archbishop Amissah then asked Bishop Anthony Konnins to release him to enlist in the military which he complied, thus fulfilling his second childhood dream of becoming a military officer.
He said he was the first military chaplain to be commissioned in 1966 into the Ghana Armed Forces in 1966 and his batch was the last to be commissioned by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the Republic of Ghana, before his overthrow.
He explained that the chaplains who were his predecessors had no formal military training. Rather, they were brought in and given the uniform to function as chaplains.
After his commission, he was posted to the 6th Battalion of Infantry, Takoradi, where he served under the late General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, the then Commanding Officer of 6BN, who later became the Head of State of Ghana.
Infancy/Education
Rev Fr Col MDK Kumesi was born on October 31, 1933, at Baglo in the Oti Region to Mr Akute Kumesi, a traditional priest and Madam Agnes Mawuwor. However, his father was baptised when he fell sick before he died.
Due to few schools in those days, his parents arranged for him to stay with the late Mr Gabriel Ekudi, a teacher at Lolobi to enable him to attend Standards One and Two in 1942.
In 1947, Mr Gabriel Ekudi was transferred to Likpe Mate and little Kumesi had to continue Standards Three, Four and Five there.
He once again had to move to Hohoe Roman Catholic School in 1950 to continue with Standards Six and Seven.
He entered the St Teresa’s Minor Seminary at Amisano in 1956 to study Philosophy and through to St Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu, all in Cape Coast with his mates as the pioneer students.
Training
Commenting on the training of young priests these days, he said things have changed because at their time the Rector read the letters of all seminarians and those who received letters written by their girlfriends were given outright dismissal from the seminary.
Col Kumesi retired from the military on March 20 1989 and was posted to Tetema where he spent 10 years shepherding the flock.
He was again posted to Baglo his hometown where he spent another 10 years before he was finally retired as a priest.
Though retired as a priest, he still says mass at St Ann Catholic Church, one of the outstations of St Theresa Catholic Church, at Ntwanta.
By Raymond Kyekye
He once sold kenkey to pay his school fees, and now wears the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police. DCOP Kofi Sarpong, police officer and award winning gospel musician is charting a journey few could script.
In an interview with The Spectator chronicling his rise, the newly promoted DCOP took us on his journey through the ranks.
Early Life
“I was born in Berekum in the Bono Region, then Brong Ahafo, to Comfort Yeboah, affectionately called Maame Yaa, and the late Chief Inspector Kofi Sarpong,” he said.
His family story is one of resilience. His mother had two children before her husband died in an accident. She later married Kofi Sarpong’s father, a police officer, and had two more, himself and his junior brother. “So we are four, unfortunately one is deceased, just last year, so we are three now.”
School and struggle
He started at Berekum Methodist Primary under the old ‘Sito’ system. In Form Two, he moved to Obuasi to stay with a guardian for his Form Three education, then returned to Berekum for Form Four. He later attended Berekum Senior High School where he studied General Arts and shone as an athlete, a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.
After O-Levels, his batch was the last to write the exams, his dream was to become a teacher because of his love for children. But financial hardship forced a detour.
“I decided to help myself by going to buy maize and started preparing kenkey to sell at lorry parks and markets in Berekum,” he recalled.
According to him, the people from Berekum know this story. “I can make all types of kenkey, Fante Kenkey, Ga Komi and others. Don’t be surprised to see Kofi Sarpong Kenkey one day.” The proceeds paid his upkeep.
For this reason, he advised the youth “Don’t see life as a smooth journey but find something prudent to do to help yourself in difficult times.”
After grinding his education to a halt due to financial challenges, he now holds a Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy and Project Management, plus other higher certificates, with more in the offing.
The Police Call
When teaching did not materialise immediately, he moved to stay with his father at Osu, Accra. In 1994, he visited former IGP Nana Owusu-Nsia at Police Headquarters, who told about ongoing police enlistment.
In his head he declined, but outwardly he accepted to try reluctantly. Later, watching TV news and seeing long queues of young people aspiring to join the Police, he was inspired to reconsider.
He went to Berekum for his certificate. Accra enlistment had closed, so he joined the Kumasi exercise. He was selected, passed the exams and went to the Koforidua Police Training School, Galloway. After passing out, he was posted to the Logistics Unit at Police Headquarters.
At Headquarters, a senior officer encouraged young constables to further their education. He took a course in Purchasing and Supply via distance learning from a UK institution. 
Upon completion, the Police administration promoted him from Constable Class One to Chief Inspector, a leap that paved the way for him to enrol at the Police Academy. He graduated as ASP, and the climb to DCOP began.
“The officer corps starts from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the cadet,” he explained. “When you graduate from the Police Academy, you are awarded ASP, and you move to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), that’s when I released album to start my music career professionally.”
From there, he rose to Superintendent of Police (SP), Chief Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and now Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Next is Commissioner of Police (COP).
Music found him in Sudan
On peacekeeping duty in Sudan, officers from different nations came together to hold fellowship led by a Nigerian officer. In December that year, with top-ranked officers present, Kofi Sarpong led the service to the admiration of all.
On his return to Ghana, a Colonel, who was a Matron at 37 Military Hospital and a member of the 37 Methodist-Presbyterian Church invited him to their harvest service. He ministered, and as he stepped out of church, a man approached him with an offer to record him. He declined.
Days later, at the office, the man, Ernest Kwesi, who owned Media Excel Production sent an elderly man to pursue him. He still declined. This compelled Ernest Kwesi himself to visit him at the office. “He told me he had seen something in me.”
Just after Ernest Kwesi left,Kofi Sarpong wrote to then Director General/Welfare, Mohammed Alhassan, and Paul Tawiah Quaye the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the time. “He opened the letter and said he had been waiting all this while because he had seen me perform at police officers’ events.”
He was summoned to the IGP’s office, a call which scared him, however, it was a good news; his request was approved. Against this backdrop, he informed Ernest Kwesi who quickly visited that evening with highlife musician Akwaboah Jnr., who taught him his first song, ‘Me ko nso hw3 mu’, and they went to the studio.
A song earlier recorded in reggae by Zapp Mallet was totally transformed by Nacee, so they released both versions on the album. Nacee, he says, hugely supported promotion, as did Mark Okraku-Mantey.
He also acknowledge Oware Jnr. who also wrote songs for him.
After his maiden album’s success, police leadership congratulated him. He says he is happy to have inspired other officers to write to the Service to pursue other interests.
An autobiography, he reveals, is in the offing.
Family and food
He is married to Mrs Salomey Sarpong with three children, two boys and a girl: Nana Nketiah, Maame Afia Yeboah Sarpong and Papa Kwabena Aseda Sarpong.
His hobbies are watching athletics and being with family. His favourite foods are fufu and konkonte with groundnut soup.
On music, he teased a collaboration with a top Nigerian artiste, promising fans “hot praises” soon.
He concluded by thanking Ghanaians for their support since his promotion, and thanked the Inspector General of Police for his guidance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.
In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.
“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.
It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.
Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.
She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.
But her story begins in the classroom.
After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.
In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.
She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.
The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.
Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.
Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.
For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.
Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.
Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.
Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.
Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.
She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.
Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.
Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.
She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.
For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.
The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.
If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.
Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.
Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.
For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.
She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.
“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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