Sierra Leone's President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, paid his respects and offered condolences during the funeral service of the late Arch-Bishop Emeritus Joseph Henry Ganda. Ganda, who reached the age of 91, passed away on August 9, 2023, at Choithrams Hospital in Hill Station, Freetown, following an extended period of illness.
Ganda held the position of a Sierra Leonean Roman Catholic archbishop within the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo. Born on March 22, 1932, in the village of Serabu, located in the Bo district, he was a trailblazer in the region as the first individual to pursue priesthood studies. His journey led him to complete his seminary training at the Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu, Nigeria, in 1955, after which he returned home as a Deacon.
Remarkably, on April 9, 1961, Ganda was ordained as Sierra Leone's inaugural priest, a mere two weeks prior to the nation's attainment of political independence. In 1971, he assumed the role of the first Catholic bishop for the Diocese of Kenema in Sierra Leone's Eastern Province.
A significant milestone in his ecclesiastical career occurred on November 23, 1980, when he was formally installed as the first native-born archbishop of the Archdiocese of Freetown in Sierra Leone. During his tenure as archbishop, Ganda played a pivotal role in overseeing the construction of the St. Paul Cathedral in Kenema and the St. Paul’s Seminary in Regent, Freetown. He is also widely recognized for his efforts in encouraging young individuals to consider a vocation within the Church, either as priests or nuns.
After a dedicated service of nearly thirty-six years within the Catholic ministry, Ganda retired on March 2, 2007. He passed the torch of the archbishopric to Edward Tamba Charles.