The Pan-African analyst Sekou Nkrumah has called for greater historical accuracy in public discussions about his father’s legacy, cautioning against the spread of unverified claims that can distort the country’s history.
Speaking during a panel session at the Black History Month summit organised by Asaase Broadcasting Company Ltd at the W E B Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture, the younger son of Ghana’s first president clarified what he described as misconceptions surrounding properties associated with the late leader.
Responding to earlier remarks by a speaker, he disputed claims that Peduase Lodge, home in the Aburi Hills near Accra to Ghanaian heads of state since Kwame Nkrumah, was a personal gift to the late president funded by market women, calling the assertion “totally false”.
“Peduase Lodge was built by the government,” Sekou said. “The chiefs provided the land. It was meant to serve as an additional presidential residence outside Accra – not a personal gift.”
He explained that during his tenure, Kwame Nkrumah primarily used two state-owned properties in Accra – the former seat of government at Osu Castle and, later, Flagstaff House – as official residences.
Sekou Nkrumah urged participants, especially educators and public commentators, to verify historical claims before presenting them as fact, warning that second-hand information can mislead the younger generations.
“Sometimes we have to be careful of information that is second-hand without really verifying the source,” he said. “There are kids among us who hear this and accept it as history.”
While acknowledging pride in his father’s legacy, he noted that he and his siblings were very young at the time of the 1966 coup that overthrew Nkrumah and spent years in exile, and so family members must rely on documented history rather than anecdote.
“We are proud to be Nkrumah’s children,” he added, “but we must still speak with accuracy and authority.”
Among public figures who have notably described Peduase Lodge as a gift to Nkrumah by Ghanaian market women is Samia Nkrumah, the late president’s only daughter and elder sister of Sekou Nkrumah.
The Black History Month Summit at the W E B Du Bois Centre, in partnership with Asaase, brought together historians, policymakers, cultural leaders and black people living in the diaspora to examine Pan-African history and its contemporary resonances. The discussions ranged from how to preserve heritage to youth empowerment and integrating the African continent.
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