Mike and Raymonde had been separated as man and wife for many years. In 2010, Mike met and fell in love with Afua Serwa Brenya. He said the thing that attracted him to Afua the most was her laughter and happy disposition. With the blessing of Teacher Mina, he asked that the customary marriage rites be performed,. Theirs was one long distance relationship that worked really well. In 2011, Mike was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. With the support of AfDB, he received the best treatment both in Tunis and the UK. The best tonic for his recovery was that Afua was able to come to London to support him in his care back to good health! During this time he also had the support of many friends and AfDB colleagues in Tunis. He returned to Tunis in 2012 having made excellent recovery and with the illness in remission. His ongoing treatment and excellent care was shared between the AfDB doctors in Tunis and University College Hospital’s top consultant.   Mike’s illness took a sudden turn for the worst in April and sadly he lost his battle for life on Tuesday, 29th April 2014, 3 days before his 61st birthday!!! The family of Michael Offei Kwafo give thanks for his life on this earth and are comforted by the fact that he impacted positively on the lives of so many people. Kwagyebi Offei, Damirifa Due. Due ne amenehunu.

‘Bushmaster’, the plot in his ancestral hometown of Aburi, was gifted to Mike by his Great Uncle from his maternal side. His vision for this land has developed over the years. Initially he was adamant (much to the angst of some) that development of the land had to start with the planting of vegetation – palm trees, vegetables, mangoes, olive trees, jasmine and many more – enhancing the character of the land. He persevered with this vision and today, Bushmaster boasts of some really well developed vegetables, fruits and exotic flowers. The Tunisian influences at Bushmaster are many but none more vivid than the blue and white building – the bath house - that stands on the uppermost site of the land. Sidi Bou Said in Aburi! In the words of Mike ‘Can you imagine…?’ Even the fittings and décor inside the building, have Tunisian influences! Whilst Michael did more than imagine, he did not see his Bushmaster project to its true conclusion.  The move from Abidjan to Tunisia reduced the pace of progress but with the help of family, chiefly Wofa Amoah and Nana Kweku Kwafo, the work continued. He was therefore very excited that the Bank was ‘moving back’ to Abidjan. Not least because he would be close to Ghana and see his project to its final conclusion, before retiring in 2015. But God had other plans for him. It will be a real testament to his memory to realise his dream for Bushmaster (a place where friends and family would visit to enjoy its beautiful scenery) in the coming years.

Mike was a workaholic but he also enjoyed taking time out to be with friends and family. In Abidjan, Raymonde’s regular Sunday picnic sojourn to Bassam beach with Takyiwa, family and friends was a way of trying to get Mike to relax and chill. Many family members who visited Mike enjoyed the outings to Bassam and were also treated to Mike’s tour of Abidjan. Mike was generous (sometimes to a fault), selfless and very open hearted. In Abidjan, he maintained his friendship with ‘old’ mates such as Charles Wereko- Brobbey and Francis Sampong but he also made lots of really good ’new’ friends – John Attafuah, Victor Imboua-Niava, Eugene Sackey and Francis Anglow to name but a few. They all became part of Mike’s family and were there for him at every point in his life. Mike’s love of literature, music and languages was all pervading. For him, television was an unnecessary social evil, although in recent times, he would sometimes sit through a particular TV show with his nieces and nephews because that was his way of getting to understand them! He would use such opportunities to have deep and meaningful discussions about issues pertinent to them, sharing his views along the way. He had wide ranging taste in music and literature and was literate in four languages – Twi, Ga, English and French. It was a source of pride for Mike that Takyiwa was literate in Twi, French and English. Mike’s time in Tunis saw his faith grow as he developed a closer bond/relationship with his God. His quiet time with his Bible each evening was sacrosanct to him. Encouraged by his church family at St George’s Anglican Church, Tunis, He continued to serve his God in his inimitable way. Teacher Mina, also ensured that his tie to his ‘home church’, Kaneshie Presbyterian Church, was not lost by regularly paying his dues to the church.

On arrival in Abidjan, Mike got a 6 month consultancy contract at the US Department of State Embassy to perform the first ever inventory of US Government stocks in Abidjan.  At the end of the contract, he was recruited to the HR office of the Embassy where he worked till May 1988. Mike joined his beloved African Development Bank (AfDB) in June 1988 as Principal Clerk in the HR Department (CHRM 1) of the bank and the rest, as they say, is history. With the Bank’s move to Tunisia, he was appointed the HR Officer responsible for the AfDB New Staff Orientation Programme. He made this role his own as he became the ‘face’ of the Bank, for all new staff, working diligently and always giving 200% of himself to make sure that staff settled in very well in their new ‘home’. On 7th February 2014 Mike received a rapturous standing ovation at the President’s reception in recognition of his long service (25 years) with the African Development Bank.

Michael’s infancy was spent in Aburi where extended family members were instrumental in his upbringing whilst his parents were at work. In 1956, when he was just 3 years old, the family moved to live in Accra. His early years of education started at Mrs Fischerber’s nursery school and then onto Ridge Church School. At the age of nine, Michael returned to Aburi, to join the Aburi  Presbyterian Boys School (Amanfo) as a young boarder.  Under the tutelage of Masters J. J. Addae and Danso, Michael was trained in the strict Basel tradition and acquired many of the principles he lived by till his passing. Mike’s nickname ‘Amanfo Jet’ was given to him by his peers at the school because of his love of food and his ability to consume large portions of boarding school grub quickly at every sitting! Michael passed his common entrance examination for Tema Secondary School in 1966 and completed his first year of his secondary education. At the end of his first year he was on the move again, this time to the UK. The entire family: mum, dad and children sojourned to England in 1967. Mike's very 'British' manner  and public school accent (which many have commented on) was fashioned during his formative years in the UK. At his school, Kilburn Grammar School, Mike excelled in all his academic subjects, particularly languages. He was the captain of the school's rugby team and he also learnt to play the cello. There was nothing funnier than seeing this little skinny, lanky boy, dressed in his school uniform, carrying this larger than life musical instrument! He was quite an accomplished cello player. Mike attained his Languages BA degree at Middlesex University. He married Raymonde in the UK in1983 and they decided that they would move to Cote d’Ivoire, where their daughter, Francoise Takyiwa was born.

Michael Offei Kwafo (Kwagyebi) was born in the Akuapim hills, Salem in Aburi, Ghana in 1953, the first son of Nathan Ntow Kwafo and Mina Takyiwa Anti Kwafo (Teacher Mina), both of blessed memory. He came from a family of staunch Presbyterians and had a good bit of Christian upbringing. His great grandfather was the late Rev. Samuel Kwafo, a Presbyterian missionary, who together with the German missionaries took Presbyterianism to Ash anti and Brong Ahafo. His grandfather was the late Manasseh Ofei Kwafo, a business tycoon who worked with S.C.O.A and U.T.C in Ashanti and parts of the Central Region specifically Dunkwa-on-Offin. Manasseh, was also a staunch Presbyterian who established a Presbyterian Church wherever his work took him. His maternal grandfather was the late Okyeame Anti Ampofo of Tutu and Aburi, a building contractor and a linguist to the Adontenhene of Akuapem.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” Timothy 4: 7-8