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Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, died on April 27, 1972, in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Nkrumah died of an unknown but apparently incurable sickness. His body came back to Ghana where he had achieved independence in 1957 and had ruled the country approximately 13 years. Thousands of Ghanaians attended the funeral to bury the president.

Background

Nkurumah disappeared from the public eye in Ghana after being overthrown by a coup d’état in February 1966 and had since been living in the Guinean capital of Conakry laying low. Nkrumah suffered from an unknown sickness, with sources not mentioning the kind of disease. After he got sick, he was transferred to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, for better medication and treatment. However, after doctors and nurses tried their best, Nkrumah's sickness persisted, leading him to death. On 27 April 1972, Nkrumah died.

Return of his body

On July 7, the remains of Nkrumah were transported back to Ghana aboard a specially arranged Guinean Air Force aircraft. Following his passing, negotiations between Ghana's National Redemption Council and President Sékou Touré of Guinea facilitated the repatriation of Nkrumah's body. Initially, President Touré of Guinea declined Ghana's requests for the repatriation, opting instead to grant Nkrumah a state funeral in Conakry, Guinea's capital. All flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the former President until his interment. Nkrumah's remains laid in state the following day before being transported to his home town of Nkroful for burial.

Funeral

The funeral proceedings were carried by Radio Conakry, also known as the "Voice of the Revolution", which was Guinea’s national radio.

References

1. ^ "Kwame Nkrumah | Biography, Education, | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
2. "Shirley Graham du Bois and Kwame Nkrumah look over the open casket at state funeral for W. E. B. Du Bois, August 1963".
3. ^ "The mystery around what actually happened to Kwame Nkrumah's body". GhanaWeb. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
4. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-mystery-around-what-actually-happened-to-Kwame-Nkrumah-s-body-1746578#google_vignette. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "Ghana Burial Set As Guinea Returns Body of Nkrumah". The New York Times. 1972-07-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
6. Robinson, Daniel (2022-02-01). "Voice of the Revolution/Guinea - Funeral Observances for Kwame Nkrumah: 1972". The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. Retrieved 2024-05-14.

• 1972 in Ghana
• Deaths and funerals of politicians
• State funerals
• April 1972 events in Africa