Nkroful

Nkroful is a village in the Ellembelle District, a district in the Western Region of south Ghana, located near Axim in the Nzema East Municipal of the Western Region.

Geography

Location

Nkroful stands inland 5 km (3 miles) from the coastal highway, from the Essiama village junction turnoff.

Nkrumah Mausoleum

Nkroful is famous as the birthplace of Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah was born there on September 21, 1909, was raised there, and on July 9, 1972 was also buried there after his death. Nkroful has the original Nkrumah Mausoleum and monument, which continues to attract visitors.

The languages spoken in Nkroful are Akan (Nzema) and English.

References

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah PC (September 18 or 21, 1909 – 27 April 1972) led Ghana to independence from Britain in 1957 and served as its first prime minister and president. Nkrumah first gained power as leader of the colonial Gold Coast, and held it until he was deposed in 1966.

An influential 20th-century advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and was the winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962.

According to intelligence documents released by the American Office of the Historian, "Nkrumah was doing more to undermine [US government] interests than any other black African."

Early life and education

Gold Coast

Kwame Nkrumah was born in about 1909 in Nkroful, Gold Coast. Although his mother, whose name was Nyanibah, later stated his year of birth was 1912, Nkrumah wrote that he was born on 18 September 1909, a Saturday, and by the naming customs of the Akan people was given the name Kwame, that being the name given to males born on a Saturday. During his years as a student in the United States, though, he was known as Francis Nwia Kofi Nkrumah, with Kofi being the name given to males born on Friday. The name of his father is not known; most accounts say he was a goldsmith. According to Ebenezer Obiri Addo in his study of the future president, the name "Nkrumah", a name traditionally given to a ninth child, indicates that Kwame likely held that place in the house of his father, who had several wives. Kwame, though, was the only child of his mother.