Historian, lawyer and public speaker Dr Yaw Anokye Frimpong has shared what he described as the lesser-known story behind Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s decision to leave Ghana in 1935.
Speaking on Joy Prime on September 21, in commemoration of Nkrumah’s birthday, Dr Frimpong said Nkrumah had initially wanted to become a Catholic priest and had attended Amisano Catholic Seminary.
He said Nkrumah’s plans changed after he became involved with a woman who later became pregnant.
“The true story behind it was that the man wanted to be a Catholic priest, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone to Amisano,” Dr Frimpong said.
According to him, Nkrumah was training to become a priest and was expected to remain celibate when the woman’s family was preparing to report the matter to the authorities.
“So this man had to quickly leave the country,” he said.
Dr Frimpong said the birth of Nkrumah’s son, Francis Nkrumah, and Nkrumah’s departure from the country happened in the same year.
“So if you think I’m lying, check the date that Dr Francis Nkrumah was born and the day Kwame Nkrumah left the country that year, the same 1935,” he said.
He said the account was important because Nkrumah should also be understood as a human being rather than as a perfect historical figure.
“This is something books don’t tell you and I believe it’s wrong. You have to let the people know that the man was just an ordinary human being like you and I, so that you can praise him,” he said.
“But if you put him top as an angel, it becomes difficult to praise him. We don’t praise angels, they already have powers.”
