Leaked info and the celebration of a hero: How hundreds mobbed Nkrumah on his release from prison

It was not meant to have been such a crowded scene when Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was released from prison about midday on February 12, 1951, but word got out early, and far.

And so when the gates of the James Fort in Accra were flung open for the man, who at the time, had won the hearts of many citizens of the Gold Coast, following his resolve to fight for their independence, they mobbed him in celebration.

The scenes, captured on video, have been shared after many years by a page on Twitter called Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Quotes.

In the video caption, it said that Nkrumah was in the prison for over a year.

“About midday on 12 February 1951, the prison gates of James Fort were opened. Out stepped Dr Kwame Nkrumah a free man after over a year in prison. News of his imminent release had leaked out and crowds had gathered to greet him,” the caption read.

Kwame Nkrumah left prison to set up the Convention People’s Party (CPP), and in 1957, after many years of struggles, he won Ghana its independence, making it the first African country south of the Sahara to attain such a feat.

See the video below:



AE/KPE