In honour of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, the Ministry of Interior has declared Thursday, September 21, a public holiday. In a statement declaring the Day, the Interior Ministry emphasized the importance of Ghanaians observing it all around the nation.
The Ministry said, “The general public is hereby informed that Thursday, September 21, which marks Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, is a Statutory Public Holiday and should be observed as such throughout the country”.
This will be the fifth time a holiday has been declared to celebrate Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day since Parliament approved it in 2019.
Kwame Nkrumah, the renowned political leader and statesman, was born on September 21, 1909, in Nkroful, Gold Coast, which is now known as Ghana. Nkroful was a small village located in the Nzema area, situated in the southwest of the Gold Coast, near the border with the French colony of the Ivory Coast.
Although his father was absent from the family, he worked as a goldsmith in Half Assini until his passing. Kwame Nkrumah was raised by his mother and extended family, who lived together in a traditional manner, with occasional visits from more distant relatives.
His childhood was spent carefree, in the village, bush, and nearby sea. During his time as a student in the United States, he was known as Francis Nwia Kofi Nkrumah, with Kofi being the name given to males born on Fridays.
However, he later changed his name to Kwame Nkrumah in 1945 while in the UK, preferring the name “Kwame.” According to Ebenezer Obiri Addo’s study of the future president, the name “Nkrumah,” traditionally given to a ninth child, suggests that Kwame likely held that position in his father’s household, as his father had multiple wives.
