Following his contributions to Ghana’s independence struggles, JB Danquah was arrested and detained under the Preventive Detention Act on the grounds of involvement with alleged plans to overthrow the CPP government on October 3, 1961.
He was, however, released on June 22, 1962. After his release, two years along the line, JB Danquah was again arrested on January 8, 1964, for allegedly plotting against President Kwame Nkrumah.
While in prison, the former member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) wrote a letter to Kwame Nkrumah, calling for his release based on health grounds.
In a video shared on YouTube by Nana Kollynx, it contained the detailed letter from JB Danquah to Kwame Nkrumah before his demise.
Below are details of his last letter to Kwame Nkrumah:
In JB Danquah’s letter dated May 9, 1964, to Kwame Nkrumah, he spoke about his deteriorating health condition and how he had not been allowed to communicate with his family.
“Here at Nsawam, for the four months of my detention up to date (January 8 to Mary 9 1964), I have not been allowed access to my books and papers, except the Bible, and although I was told in January that my application to write to my wife, Elizabeth Danquah, could be considered if I addressed a letter to the Minister of Interior, through the Director of Prisons.
“I have not, for over three months, since I wrote to the minister as directed on January 31, 1964, received any reply, not even a common acknowledgment from the minister as to whether I should be allowed to write to my wife or not,” he said. He further talked about how he was detained without access to a judge.
“Since I was arrested four months ago, I have not been asked to appear before any judge, committee, or commission, and up to now, all I have been told is contained in a sheet of paper entitled Grounds for Detention in which I am accused that I have been actively engaged in a plan to overthrow the government of Ghana by unlawful means,” he wrote.
The former lawyer also detailed the trauma he was going through in his time of detention.
According to JB Danquah, he was kept like a “galley slave” without proper access to a bed.
“I find myself locked up at Nsawam prison in a cell about six by nine feet without a writing or reading desk, a dining table, a bed or a chair or any form of seat and compelled to eat my food squatting on the same floor where two blankets and a cover are spread for me on the hard cement to sleep.
“Also a latrine pan without a closet, and a water jug, a cup without a locker are all assembled in that narrow space for my use like a galley slave,” he noted. JB Danquah included how he had not been given the opportunity to provide financially for his children’s education.
“I had no opportunity to make any financial provision for my wife and children at the time of my arrest, this delay in the minister’s reply had made it impossible for me to contribute to the progress and maintenance of my wife and also for the education of my children as is my duty to the nation,” he added.
He died on February 4, 1965, 12 days after he sent the letter to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
According to reports, JB Danquah suffered a heart attack while in detention.
Read excerpts of the letter below:
Meanwhile, watch GhanaWeb’s tour of Fort Victoria and the Cape Coast Lighthouse below:
JHM/AE
