Sankofa Series: A rare account on what ‘actually’ killed Nkrumah

The passing of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, has long been shrouded in mysteries and speculations.

Official records available suggest that Nkrumah succumbed to prostate cancer while in exile in Romania in 1972.

However, the circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of conspiracy theories.

Nkrumah's final days on earth were marked by isolation, with no family members by his side, and a growing suspicion that he was not safe from Western intelligence agencies.

It is true that his concerns were valid and had a basis, especially considering the mysterious death of his cook in Guinea during his exile, which fueled rumours of poisoning.

June Milne, the publisher of Kwame Nkrumah’s books, shared her strong suspicions over the death of Ghana’s first president in an interview.

She recounted the sudden and inexplicable demise of Amoah, Nkrumah's cook, who passed away within six months of their arrival in Conakry.

To her, since Amoah died, there was no one available to check Nkrumah’s food. As a result, she believed that he [Nkrumah] was poisoned as one of the cooks that came after Amoah, worked with the American Embassy.

“Everything seemed to be pretty well and alright until 1968. He was in terrific health at the time. Although I was a bit uneasy because within six months of his arrival in Conakry, the cook that he relied on so much and did all his food for him, whom he always travelled with, Amoah, died within six months. He was a fit man, and I think he was helped on his way to tell you the truth, but after that, Nkrumah’s food was not really safe.

“The various cooks came out from Conakry, and so on. I can’t prove any of this, but I have a strong suspicion that Nkrumah was poisoned in the end in a slow, nasty sort of way. But Amoah was probably the first casualty, I think. Because he was a fit man, and then suddenly he’s vomiting, he’s unwell, and he is taken to the hospital. Then he’s got cancer, and he’s dead within six months. This was really inexplicable, but after that, I felt very concerned,” she stated.

She added “... There was no check on his food, even though cooks were coming out from Conakry. In those days, the American Embassy was opened, and I heard that one of the cooks had been working at the American Embassy.”

June Milne added also that she observed a concerning decline in Nkrumah's health around 1968, marked by unexplained weight loss and stomach issues, which were previously foreign to him.

“He was very fit until about 1968, and then I began to notice that he was losing weight. Inexplicably, he seemed to be eating alright but he wasn’t as well as he had been… Between 1969 and 1970, he was losing so much weight, and he was having stomach upsets. He never had trouble like that before,” she added.

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Watch the full interview below



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