It would have marked the 115th birthday of Dr Nkrumah if he were alive. The day is marked with various events and lectures that honour and remember the accomplishments and legacy of Dr. Nkrumah.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah played a pivotal role in Ghana’s quest for independence from British rule and was the founder of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
He was sworn in as the first President of Ghana in 1960, following which the republic was declared on July 1st, 1960. However, in February 1966, while Nkrumah was on a state visit to Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup.
Dr. Nkrumah never returned to Ghana and passed away in April 1972. In September 2009, the late President John Evans Atta Mills designated September 21st, the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah’s birth in 1909, as Founder’s Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana. In recent times, however, since the President Akufo-Addo government took office, the day is observed as the first President’s birthday.
