Today in history, Dr.Joseph Boakye Danquah died at Nsawam prison

Today in History, On 4th February 1965, Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah, one of the leading founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention died at Nsawam prison.

Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah, the Doyen of Ghana politics, was among the nationalists whose aim and aspirations were to end the British Colonial rule.

With his aim and aspirations to end colonial, he team up with prominent individuals who have the same objectives and founded the first political party in Gold Coast on 4th August 1947.

The leading members of the Party were; George Alfred Grant, R.S Blay ,R.A Awoonor Williams, J. W Degraft Johnson, among others.

The motto of the Party was” self-government within the shortest period of time”. Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah was a leading member of the Party.

After the 1948 riot, Dr. Joseph Danquah and other five leading members of the United Gold Coast Convention were arrested by the British colonial with charged that hey are the brain behind the riot in the principal cities in the colony because of their intention to end colonization in Gold Coast.

These people arrested and detained and became popularly known as the Big Six.

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In the 1951 general election which was basically to lay foundation for independence in 1954 but the emergence of the National Liberation Movement(NLM) and it issues delayed Ghana independence until 1957.

During the election, Dr. Joseph Boakye represented the United Gold Coast Convention (U.G.C.C) as their Candidate.

After the election, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah who broke away from the U.G.C.C as result of difference in approach to end colonial rule defeated Dr. Joseph Boakye Daquah in the 1951 polls.

Upon attainment of independence, Dr. Joseph Danquah ran for president against Nkrumah, but secured only 10% of the votes cast.

In 1961, he was imprisoned under the notorious Preventive Detention Act for being charged as the brain behind Nkrumah’s series of assassination attempt, but he was released a year later.

He was however jailed under the PDA again in 1964 and died a year later at Nsawam prison

Biography of Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah 

Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah was born in December 1895 at the Bempong in the Akyem part of the Gold Coast.

Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah who came to be labeled as the doyen of the Ghana politics became a very important nationalist during the Independence struggle. Hailing from one of the most influential families in Ghanaian history (Oforipanyinfie) and thus wielded a lot of respect.

Joseph Boakye Danquah studied in the United Kingdom.

He was a law student at and philosophy at the University of London.

He became a very prominent lawyer in Gold Coast after he had become the first from the African continent to have to be awarded a Doctorate degree in law from the of London.

Upon his return to Gold Coast, he went into private practice and admired another Gold Coast nationalist, Joseph Casely Hayford.

Joseph Boakye Danquah advocated for a bicameral system in 1951 when he was elected into the Legislative Assembly.

Joseph Boakye Danquah died after a year he was jailed by Nkrumah.

Following his death, the government banned any public celebration of his life.

Joseph Boakye Danquah wrote two documentaries on the life and politics of the Akan People.