Duchess of Kent declared Ghana independent – Prof Mike Ocquaye

Lawyer and Historian, Prof. Mike Ocquaye has reiterated that Ghanaians have distorted the facts all this while by crediting Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah with the declaration of Ghana’s Independence.

Although Prof. Ocquaye would not contest the struggles of Nkrumah that led Ghana to Independence, as well as his enormous contributions to push the country to the path of socio-economic transformation, he rather disagreed on the school of thought that Osagyefo was the one who declared independence for Ghana.

“Let me take the opportunity to clear this mistake in the Ghanaian history -The Independence of Ghana wasn’t declared by Nkrumah. It is completely false for anyone to say that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the one who declared Ghana’s independence. It is rather the Duchess of Kent who had been given the authority by the Queen of England to fly to Ghana and declare our independence.

“The declaration of the independence did not even happen at any rally grounds, it was declared in parliament by the Duchess of Kent and Nkrumah was the one that moved the motion, and also seconded by K.A Busia. If students write this in exams, then this is wrong," he told Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.3 FM Tuesday.

Prof. Mike Ocquaye’s comment comes on the heels of the Founder’s Day celebration observed across the country yesterday.

September 21 marks the Founder’s Day in Ghana’s calendar and it’s statutorily set aside to observe the birthday of Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Ghanaians home, celebrate the day with a sober reflection of Nkrumah’s selflessness and dedication to the liberation of Ghana and Africa as a whole.