History recounts that Ghana’s inaugural president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, succumbed to prostate cancer without any family members by his side in 1972 while in exile in Romania.
During his exile, Nkrumah harbored suspicions of being unsafe from Western intelligence agencies and feared poisoning.
These suspicions heightened when his cook died mysteriously in Conakry, Guinea, following his overthrow in Ghana. Upon Nkrumah’s demise on April 27, 1972, his body was sent to Guinea, where he had been appointed co-president.
A contentious saga unfolded regarding Nkrumah’s wishes for his remains. In his will, Nkrumah expressed a desire to be cremated, with his ashes scattered across Africa. Meanwhile, his elderly mother, Madam Elizabeth Nyaniba, yearned for her son’s body to be returned to Ghana.
The Ghana Police Service reportedly offered a $120,000 bounty for Nkrumah’s return, dead or alive, after his overthrow. The National Revolutionary Council (NRC), which assumed power, later revoked this reward.
Sékou Touré, Guinea’s President, withheld Nkrumah’s body despite assurances from Ghana’s leader at the time, Col Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
Sékou Touré sought certain conditions, including the lifting of charges against Nkrumah, release of his supporters, and an official welcome for Nkrumah’s remains.
After international intervention by Presidents William Tolbert, Siaka Stevens, and General Yakubu Gowon, Sékou Touré agreed to return the body, leading to a state funeral in Guinea. The Guinean public and Nkrumah’s mother had fervently requested the return.
The state funeral, attended by African and global leaders, occurred on May 1, 1972. A Ghanaian delegation later attempted to persuade Sékou Touré to return Nkrumah’s body but was unsuccessful. Nkrumah’s embalmed body was eventually flown to Ghana on July 7, 1972, after months of negotiation. A national day of mourning was declared, and Nkrumah’s body was laid in state before being buried in his hometown of Nkroful.