On September 8, 2022, the world paid tribute to the late Queen of England, Elizabeth II, in a manner befitting her extensive and esteemed reign, as many acknowledged her significant contributions.
Also, those who had direct interactions with her took advantage of the opportunity to tell the world about both their experiences with her and who she was to them.
Among these posts was one from Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, the founder of Action Chapel International and the father of the charismatic Christian movement in Ghana.
He wrote in his post about how much he remembered his late father meeting the queen when she was in Ghana.
“I am pleased to share this multigenerational treasure of my family. My dad, Amb. E.K. Duncan-Williams, met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Ghana in 1959. May her soul rest in the bosom of our heavenly Father,” his tweet said.
The caption on the attached photo also read: “The Duke of Edinburgh exchanging greetings with E. Kojo Duncan-Williams during Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Ghana in 1959.”
Political figure Edward Kojo Duncan-Williams was from Ghana. From 1965 to 1966, he served as a member of parliament representing the Adaagya constituency. He was also among the first District Commissioners to be appointed in Kumasi.
Childhood and schooling
On May 24, 1910, Duncan-Williams was born in Akumadan, in the Ashanti Region. His secondary education was received at Mfantsipim School on Cape Coast, after receiving his early education at Government Boys’ Primary School in Kumasi and Atuabo in the Eastern Nzima Traditional Area of the Western Region.
In 1952, Duncan-Williams served as the Farmers’ Association’s (later, the Cocoa Purchasing Company) assistant secretary. Later on, he was given the position of Supervisor for the Atwima/Nwabiagya district, which has Abuakwa as its headquarters. He was moved to Sunyani, where he was appointed the Cocoa Purchasing Company’s Provisional District Manager.
Duncan-Williams was chosen to serve as vice-chairman of the Convention People’s Party branch for the Brong Ahafo Region while she was in Sunyani. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the president at the time, appointed him as the Kumasi district’s district commissioner in 1959. In 1961, he was named the Convention People’s Party’s regional secretary. He was elected to the parliament in June 1965, representing the Adaagya constituency. Up to the Nkrumah government’s overthrow in February, he held this position.