On 27 April 1972, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first prime minister and president, died at the age of 62 in Bucharest, Romania. His death marked the end of a remarkable life dedicated to African liberation, unity and anti-colonial struggle.
Born in Nkroful in 1909, Nkrumah led the Gold Coast to independence from British colonial rule in 1957, making Ghana the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve this milestone. A visionary pan-Africanist, he was instrumental in founding the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and championed the cause of a politically united Africa.
In 1966, while on a peace mission to Vietnam, Nkrumah was overthrown in a military coup and subsequently lived in exile in Conakry, Guinea, under the protection of President Ahmed Sékou Touré. He remained politically active, writing and advocating for African unity.
In the early 1970s, Nkrumah’s health deteriorated, leading to his transfer to Bucharest for medical treatment. He died there on 27 April 1972, reportedly from cancer.
Following his death, there was initial reluctance from the Guinean government to repatriate his body. However, after negotiations, his remains were returned to Ghana in July 1972.
He was initially buried in his home town of Nkroful. Later, in 1992, his remains were reinterred in a mausoleum at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra, the site where he had declared Ghana’s independence 35 years earlier.
Nkrumah’s legacy endures in Ghana and across Africa. He is remembered as a pioneering leader who championed the cause of African unity and independence.
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