The family of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has returned to Nkroful, with his daughter, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, pledging the family’s support for efforts to preserve and promote his ideas among younger generations.
Speaking at the 2026 NkrumahFest in Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, Ms Samia Nkrumah apologised to residents for the family’s prolonged absence from their ancestral home.
She explained that the experiences surrounding her father’s political life, including assassination attempts and the 1966 overthrow of his government, had left the family traumatised and fearful.
“I want you to forgive us for staying away from our home for so long,” she said.
Ms Samia Nkrumah recalled witnessing the physical consequences of an attempt on her father’s life, saying she once saw him injured and covered in blood.
She said those experiences had a lasting emotional impact on the family.
“We were traumatised, we were scared, we were confused,” she said.
Nkrumah family returns to Nkroful
According to Ms Samia Nkrumah, the family has now decided to reconnect with Nkroful and contribute to Ghana’s development, unity and progress.
“But the good news is that we’ve come back. And we want to make a contribution to Ghana’s progress, to Ghana’s development, and to Ghana’s unity,” she stated.
She introduced three of Nkrumah’s grandchildren who accompanied her to the festival, describing their presence as significant for the family’s renewed connection with Nkroful.
Ms Samia Nkrumah said the family’s return was not merely about commemorating Nkrumah as a historical figure but also about preserving the ideas and principles associated with his leadership.
“We are coming back to recognize our father’s work. We are coming back to appreciate his ideas, and we are coming back to make sure that those ideas never die, but rather, they nourish us and give us the courage to make Ghana better,” she said.
Samia challenges account of 1966 overthrow
Ms Samia Nkrumah also disputed narratives that Ghanaians broadly celebrated the overthrow of her father’s government in 1966.
She referred to the destruction of Nkrumah’s statue at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Museum in Accra following the coup, noting that the incident did not necessarily reflect the views of the entire population.
“That negative propaganda that Osagyefo when he left, Ghanaians were happy is not true,” she said.
She commended individuals and organisations working to document what she described as a more accurate account of Nkrumah’s life and contribution.
Ms Samia Nkrumah also spoke about the unveiling of a new statue of Nkrumah at a roundabout in Sunyani, saying the moment was particularly significant to her because of the history surrounding the destruction of his earlier statue.
She described the new monument as a symbol of renewed interest in Nkrumah’s ideas.
“When we unveiled the statue at the roundabout, I realised that yes, we are going to rise. Nzimaland will rise, Africa will rise, Ghana will rise, and Africans everywhere are going to rise,” she said.
She stressed that the significance of such monuments should go beyond the physical statues, arguing that they should serve as reminders of ideas capable of inspiring confidence, strength and freedom.
Family backs NkrumahFest
Ms Nkrumah pledged the family’s continued support for NkrumahFest and praised its organisers for creating a platform to expose young people to Nkrumah’s philosophy and Pan-African vision.
She specifically acknowledged the role of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who is a convener of the festival.
“It is for this reason that the Nkrumah family will always support what our brother is doing, what Honourable Buah is doing with NkrumahFest, enlightening the younger generation. Honourable, the Nkrumah family is behind you,” she said.
She said the family’s involvement was aimed at reconnecting young Ghanaians and Africans with Nkrumah’s ideas.
“We are here because we want to reintroduce our father’s ideas to the younger generation. Because we believe he was speaking Africa’s truth,” she added.
Nkrumah was not an isolationist — Samia
Ms Nkrumah also rejected descriptions of her father as an isolationist or a rigid leader whose ideas were detached from the wider world.
She argued that Nkrumah’s commitment to Ghanaian nationalism and Pan-Africanism coexisted with his relationships with people and leaders from different parts of the world.
“They say he was an isolationist. They say he was dogmatic, rigid in his ideas. Let me tell you, this is not true,” she said.
According to her, Nkrumah’s international relationships demonstrated that his commitment to Ghana existed alongside a broader vision for African unity.
She said the family’s renewed participation in NkrumahFest would help give younger generations an opportunity to engage with his ideas and legacy beyond what she described as negative historical narratives.
The 2026 NkrumahFest at Nkroful brought together members of the Nkrumah family, political leaders, academics, Pan-Africanists, traditional authorities, young people and other guests from Ghana and across Africa to commemorate the legacy of Ghana’s first President.
By:Rachael Djabakie