Brooklyn Park mayor issues proclamation honoring community leader Alhaji Mohammed Alfa Bagh

Mayor Alice Winston read a proclamation Aug. 4 at a Brooklyn Park City Council meeting recognizing the life and community work of Alhaji Mohammed Alfa Bagh.

The proclamation said Alfa Bagh held a bachelor’s degree in information technology from Saint Mary’s University and two master’s degrees in business administration and management information systems from the University of Colorado. It said he served as president of the Ghanaian community in Minnesota, helped found the Minnesota Mandingo Association, was active in Sierra Leonean and Liberian community groups, and worked with the Minnesota African Ebola Task Force. The proclamation credited him with helping establish two mosques — Masjid al Ansar in Brooklyn Center and Masjid al Rahim in Brooklyn Park — and with long service at U.S. Bank and in the Asheville School District. Mayor Winston concluded the proclamation, “May Allah forgive him and grant him everlasting peace and joy.”

A family member who spoke at the meeting described Alfa Bagh as a community builder who “installed discipline into our children” and thanked the city and public safety staff for their support. A second family speaker noted Alfa Bagh’s work to bring small business owners together, naming an effort called Africa Investment Group USA to pursue a small-business hub, and thanked the mayor and council for the honor while family members were visiting from out of town.

Council members present at the start of the meeting included Erickson, Zhang, Klonowski, Paige, McGarvey and Tran; Mayor Winston stated the council had a quorum before the proclamation. Winston told the audience the proclamation was arranged quickly after the family requested it and that, because the meeting needed to proceed to regular business, the council would allow “one or two” family members a few minutes to speak. The mayor apologized to the family for the limited time and thanked city staff for organizing the ceremony on short notice.

The council did not take a formal vote on the proclamation during the public remarks recorded in the transcript; the mayor’s reading and the family comments were followed by a return to the meeting’s regular business.