Death and state funeral of Kwame Nkrumah

This article is part of a series about Kwame Nkrumah
Early life and education Gold Coast Pan-African Congress United Gold Coast Convention The Big Six Convention People's Party Positive Action General elections 1951 1954 1956 1st Prime Minister of Ghana Dominion of Ghana Decolonisation of Africa Ghana Independence Act 1957 All-African Peoples' Conference 1st President of Ghana Nkrumah government 1960 constitutional referendum Congo Crisis Port Francqui incident CWAAD Winneba Ideological Institute Casablanca Group Non-Aligned Movement Kulungugu bomb attack 1964 constitutional referendum President for life 1965 parliamentary election Akosombo Dam National Liberation Council coup d'etat Nkrumaism African socialism Anti-imperialism Classless society Cult of personality Egalitarianism Marxism Leninism Neocolonialism One-party state Pan-Africanism Self-determination Social justice State ownership Legacy Death and state funeral Democratic People's Party Founders' Day Kwame Nkrumah Festival Mausoleum
v t e

Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, died on April 27, 1972, in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.^[1] 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.^[2][3]

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.^[3][1] 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.^[3][1][4]

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.^[5]

The funeral proceedings were carried by Radio Conakry, also known as the "Voice of the Revolution", which was Guinea’s national radio.^[6]