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KWAME NKRUMAH: THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE

 
Page 2 of  3 (10 December 1947 - 6 March 1957) HOME

The fog-filtered African sun on 10 December, 1947, witnessed Kwame Nkrumah's return to the Gold Coast, disembarking
Takoradi after an absence of 12 years. He found a country still very much under British colonial domination, but was soo
aware that demand for major political change was fermenting just beneath the surface. Wallace Johnson's communist We
African Youth League had infiltrated from Nigeria in 1937 and had stirred the political pot throughout the Gold Coast.

Johnson's star waned when he was convicted of sedition and deported in 1938. However, he left behind the residue
of discontent with colonialism and a growing but leaderless demand for self-rule. The colonial government moved
quickly and decisively to suppress every contentious political movement. Chiefs who showed any inclination
towards independence were quickly destooled. Anti-tax movements were rapidly suppressed. Suspect civil servants
were sacked and, in some cases, detained. Any challenge to British rule was abruptly terminated.

It was into this period of suppression that Kwame Nkrumah arrived home. Within days, he returned to
his home at Nkroful for a brief family reunion. Word spread quickly that Nkrumah was home and after
a fortnight, he began a series of speaking engagements and meetings in order to sense the level of
unrest that lay just beneath the surface throughout the country.

A series of meetings with the leadership of the United Gold Coast Convention, (UGCC), founded on 4
August, 1947, and lead by Dr. J. B. Danquah, resulted, on 20 January, 1948, in the appointment of
Nkrumah as General Secretary of the Party. From that moment at Saltpond, the die was cast. The
Gold Coast had its' leader and was on a fixed and determined course towards independence from
Great Britain.

Nkrumah began an intense speaking tour throughout the country, and with his unique, impassioned
rhetoric, soon had the entire country seething with Pan-African enthusiasm and demands for self-rule.
Boycotts of European goods were initiated, labor strikes became common place and work slowdowns
began in all areas of the Gold Coast's commerce and industry.

The 28th of February, 1948, was a landmark day in the nation's history. A large contingent of former
servicemen who were tired of unfulfilled promises by the government, drafted a petition seeking
redress of grievances for presentation to H.M's Governor, Sir Gerald Creasy. As they marched,
unarmed and defenseless, they were set upon by government troops at Christianborg cross-roads.
When the smoke cleared, sixty-three former loyal soldiers lay dead or badly wounded on the streets of
Accra. Gold Coast would never be the same. Rioting and looting lasted for five days.

On 1 March, 1948, the Riot Act was read and Governor Creasy declared a state of emergency. Strict
press censorship was imposed over the entire country. On 12 March, the Governor issued Removal
Orders and police were dispatched to pick up and arrest the entire UGCC Central Executive. Kwame
Nkrumah, Dr. Danquah, E. Akufo Addo, William Ofori Atta, E. Obelsebi Lamptey and E. Ako Adjei were
arrested, detained and exiled to the Northern Territories.

On 14 March, 1948, Cape Coast students demonstrated, demanding the release of the Party
leadership. Once again, the government responded with great force, leaving the dead and dying in its
wake.

Meanwhile, the Colonial Office in London, greatly upset by events in the Gold Coast, appointed a
Commission, chaired by Mr. A. K. Watson, Recorder of Bury St. Edmunds, with a mandate to
investigate the reasons for the disturbances and to make recommendations for the continued
governance of the colony. They began their in-country interviews and deliberations on 1 April, 1948.

With the country in chaos, Governor Creasy finally acceded to demands and on 12 April, 1948, the
Party leadership was released from detention. On 19 April, he lifted the 1 ½ month press ban. These
actions served to superficially quiet the country, but it did nothing to suppress the now flourishing and
rampant demand for self-rule.

On 26 April, 1948, the Watson Commission concluded its deliberations and shortly thereafter,
presented its report to H.M.G. The principal recommendation was that a Constitution be drafted as a
possible prelude to eventual self-rule. To that end, an all African Constitutional Committee was
appointed under the Chairmanship of an esteemed African jurist, Mr. Justice Henley Coussey of the
Gold Coast High Court.

In the meantime, Nkrumah toured the country addressing huge crowds of every persuasion, every
tribe, every religion and every class of society. "Self Government Now" echoed throughout the land.
The strength of the three words grew at each speaking venue until it became the heartbeat of the
country. With adult public opinion rapidly falling into line, Nkrumah next moved to mobilize the youth
of the Gold Coast. On 26 February, 1949, he announced the formation of the Committee on Youth
Organization (CYO) designed to bring young people actively into the political fray.

At the UGCC Easter Convention at Saltpond, Nkrumah rebuked the membership claiming that they
were not working hard enough, that they did not fully understand and support his vision of self-rule.
In a highly tense and acrimonious exchange, Nkrumah tendered his resignation as General Secretary
of the party. On 12 June, 1949, at a CYO rally in Accra, Nkrumah announced the formation of the
Convention Peoples Party (CPP), calling for political unity and a nationwide unified demand for self-
rule. "If the Coussey Committee does not find for self-rule now, we will shut this country down, we will
strike, strike, strike!"

On 7 November, 1949, the Coussey Committee Report was published. Contained therein, were a
number of mechanisms for inclusion of Africans in government, but it stopped short of advocating or
even suggesting self-rule.

While the Coussey report was comprehensive and generally accepted by political moderates, Nkrumah
was furious because of its self-rule shortcomings. He announced formation of the Ghana
Representative Council (GRC) as the principal body to initiate appeal against the report. Plans were
announced for a nationwide Positive Action strike to begin 1 January, 1950. He renewed his
nationwide tour, calling on "all men of goodwill, organize, organize, organize. We prefer self-
government in danger, to servitude in tranquillity. Forward ever, backward never". The chant "Self-
government now" was taken up in every corner of the country.

New Years Day, 1950, dawned with labor shutdowns in every industrial and commercial facility.
Government responded immediately with a State of Emergency announced by the Governor. Flying
squads of the Gold Coast Constabulary swooped down and arrested more than 200 CPP and CYO
leaders, including Nkrumah.
Arrests and detentions did not stop the movement. Enough people stepped into the leadership void to
perpetuate the movement. The "Gold Coast Leader" was initiated, first as a sub-rosa broadsheet and
within a month, as a widely distributed CPP propaganda newspaper.

In the meantime, the government accepted the Coussey Committee report and began implementing
its recommendations, beginning with municipal elections in Accra on 8 April, 1950, Cape Coast on 12
June, 1950 and Kumasi on 4 November, 1950. CPP won in a landslide, to the shock and chagrin of H.
M. G. Although still in prison, Nkrumah recorded an extraordinary plurality of 22,780 votes out of
23,122 votes cast.

On 19 February, 1951, the new Governor, Sir Noble Arden-Clarke, signed the Bill of Release freeing
Nkrumah and others from prison after 13 months of detention. An invitation to State House on the
day of his release resulted in Nkrumah being asked to form a government and become Leader of
Government Business in the first African dominated government of the Gold Coast and the National
Assembly. Nkrumah accepted, but he warned the Governor that he considered the Coussey generated
Constitution to be "bogus, fraudulent and unacceptable, as it does not fully meet the aspirations of the
people of the Gold Coast". He added that he would not rest "until full self-government within the
Commonwealth was achieved". With that statement, he announced his first cabinet of 4 Europeans
and 7 Africans. The die was now cast. The sun would soon rise on a new nation, Ghana.

For the next year, Nkrumah focused his effort on the development of an equitable constitution and
creation of massive nationwide self-help schemes. Work was begun on the enormous Volta River
hydroelectric project and others of national importance.

On 5 March, 1952, Nkrumah was made Prime Minister. Work continued on a new Constitution. The
country's first Five Year Development Plan was published and through its implementation, 9 Teacher
Training Colleges, 18 Secondary Schools and 31 Primary and Middle schools were built. In the
Northern Territories, 10 new hospitals were built. Major roads were constructed linking Accra and
Cape Coast and Kumasi and from Tamale to Bolgatanga.

Nkrumah stepped up his pressure for negotiations for full Independence. Finally on 18 September,
1956, the Secretary of State for the Colonies announced a firm date for Gold Coast Independence, 6
March, 1957. On 12 November, 1956, a new Constitution was approved along with the nation's
renewed name, Ghana, after the ancient traditional Ghana Empire, the oldest known state of West
Africa, which flourished from the third to the seventeenth century.

On the appointed day, 6 March, 1957, the new nation was born. At midnight at Accra's Polo Grounds,
Prime Minister Nkrumah announced that "the long battle is over and our beloved country Ghana is
free forever". Always the Pan-Africanist, mindful of the rest of Africa, he said: "We again re-dedicate
ourselves in the struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa, for our independence is meaningless
unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent

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© 2001 Guyanaundersiege.com
Nkrumah and Ghana’s independence struggle

By Abayomi Azikiwe 
Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Published Oct 4, 2009 11:30 PM

According to the history books, 100 years ago on Sept. 21, 1909, Kwame Nkrumah, the founder
and leader of the African independence movement and the foremost advocate of Pan-Africanism
during his time, was born in the western Nzima region of the Gold Coast, later known as the
independent state of Ghana.

Nkrumah was the first head of state of an independent post-colonial nation in Africa south of the
Sahara, after he led Ghana to national liberation under the direction of the Convention Peoples
Party in 1957. Educated at the historically Black college of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania,
Nkrumah became involved in the Pan-African movement in the United States during the 1930s
and 1940s as a leading member of the African Students Association, the Council on African
Affairs, as well as other organizations.

After leaving the United States at the conclusion of World War II in 1945, he played a leading
role in convening the historic Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England—a gathering
that many credit with laying the foundation for the mass struggles for independence during the
1940s and 1950s.

During his stay in England from 1945 to 1947, he collaborated with George Padmore of
Trinidad, a veteran activist in the international communist movement and a journalist who wrote
extensively on African affairs. Nkrumah was offered a position with the United Gold Coast
Convention as an organizer in late 1947 and made the critical decision to return to the Gold
Coast to assist in the anti-colonial struggle that was intensifying in the aftermath of World War
II.
After being imprisoned with other leaders of the UGCC for supposedly inciting unrest among
veterans, workers and farmers in the colony, he gained widespread popularity among the people,
who responded enthusiastically to his militant and fiery approach to the burgeoning anti-
imperialist movement. After forming the Committee on Youth Organization, which became the
best organized segment of the UGCC, Nkrumah was later isolated from the top leadership of the
Convention, who objected to his demands for immediate political independence for the Gold
Coast.

On June 12, 1949, Nkrumah and the CYO formed the Convention Peoples Party in Accra,
Ghana, at a mass gathering of tens of thousands of people. They were prepared to launch a mass
struggle for the abolition of British colonial rule over the Gold Coast. During this same period,
Nkrumah formed links with other anti-colonial and Pan-African organizations that were
operating in other colonies of West Africa. When the CPP called for a Positive Action Campaign
in early 1950, leading to massive strikes and rebellion throughout the colony, Nkrumah was
imprisoned by the colonial authorities for sedition.

The executive members of the CPP continued to press for the total independence of the colony,
eventually creating conditions for a popular election in 1951 that the CPP won overwhelmingly.
In February 1951, Nkrumah was released from prison in Ghana and appointed Leader of
Government Business in a transitional arrangement that eventually led to the independence of
Ghana on March 6, 1957.

Vision of Pan-Africanism, socialism

At the independence gathering on March 6, Nkrumah—now prime minister—declared that

Ghana’s independence was meaningless unless it was directly linked with the total liberation of
the continent. This statement served as the cornerstone of Ghanaian foreign policy during
Nkrumah’s tenure as leader of the country.

George Padmore became the official advisor on African affairs, and was placed in charge of the
Bureau of African Affairs, whose task was to assist other national liberation movements on the
continent in their efforts to win political independence. In April 1958, the First Conference of
Independent African States was convened, with eight nation-states as participants. This gathering
broke down the colonially imposed divisions between Africa north and south of the Sahara.

In December later that same year, the first All-African Peoples Conference was held in Accra,
bringing together 62 national liberation movements from all over the continent, as well as
representation from Africans in the United States. It was at this conference in December 1958
that Patrice Lumumba of Congo became an internationally recognized leader of the anti-colonial
struggle in that Belgian colony.

By 1960 the independence movement had gained tremendous influence throughout Africa,
resulting in the emergence of many new nation-states on the continent. That same year, Ghana
became a republic and adopted its own constitution, making Nkrumah the president of the
government.
However, there arose fissures within the leadership of the CPP over which direction the new
state would take in its economic and social policies. Many of Nkrumah’s colleagues, who had
been instrumental in the struggle for independence, were not committed to his long-term goals of
Pan-Africanism and socialism. Consequently, many of the programmatic initiatives launched by
the CPP government were stifled by the class aspirations of those state and party officials who
were noncommittal about a total revolutionary transformation of Ghanaian society and the
African continent as a whole.

Internal struggles in Nkrumah’s Convention Peoples Party broke into the open, once even
resulting in an August 1962 attempt to assassinate the president with a bomb attack.

By 1964 the First Republic of Ghana had held an election that mandated the adoption of the one-
party state form of government. During this period, the CPP was attempting to restructure the
country’s economy from dependence on trade with and investment by the capitalist world. This
proved to be a formidable task due to the legacy of colonialism in the country and the relative
weakness of the Soviet Bloc and China, which limited their ability to provide economic
assistance to newly independent African states.

Nkrumah in 1963 identified neocolonialism as the major impediment to the genuine liberation of
Africa. At the founding meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
he released his book entitled “Africa Must Unite,” which provided a proposal for the adoption of
a continental union government as the only means of countering the development of the new
form of colonialism on the continent.

At the OAU conference in Egypt during July 1964, Nkrumah pleaded for the adoption of a
United States of Africa by the heads of state. This proposal was not accepted despite apparent
problems associated with the legacy of colonialism on the continent. The Congo crisis and the
economic stagnation of many of the newly independent states illustrated that these nations were
not viable as economic and political entities.

At the October 1965 OAU Summit held in Accra, many of the heads of state from other nations
did not attend because they opposed the CPP government’s foreign policy. At this conference,
Nkrumah issued his book entitled “Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism,” which
condemned the United States as the principal imperialist power behind the new form of
hegemonic rule, which was designed to maintain Western control over the newly independent
states in Africa and throughout the so-called developing world.

This book so infuriated the U.S. government that its Undersecretary of State for African Affairs
G.M. Williams wrote a memorandum of protest to Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C.,
saying that Nkrumah was working in contravention to the interests of the U.S. government in
Africa.

Just four months after the release of his book on neo-colonialism, Nkrumah was overthrown on
Feb. 24, 1966, by a coup d’etat led by lower-level military officers and police in Ghana. Since
they perceived Nkrumah’s policies as a threat to the economic and political interests of the
Western powers, the U.S. government and the imperialist world united behind the coup.
At the time Nkrumah was in China en route to North Vietnam. He was on a mission to bring
about a peace settlement in the U.S. war against the peoples of Southeast Asia when Chinese
officials informed him of the events in Ghana.

Aborting his mission to Vietnam, he returned via the Soviet Union to Africa, traveling to Egypt
and eventually settling in Guinea-Conakry. Nkrumah remained in Guinea until he was flown to
Romania to undergo treatment for cancer in 1971. During the period following the coup from
1966 to 1971, he continued to write on the history of Africa and the revolutionary movement for
Pan-Africanism and world socialism.

The legacy of Kwame Nkrumah

Despite the coup, Nkrumah’s legacy in Africa and throughout the African world continues. His
view on the necessity of coordinated guerrilla warfare to liberate Africa was realized in the
subcontinent during the 1970s and 1980s when the settler-colonial regimes of Rhodesia and
eventually South Africa were defeated. Cuba’s role in the liberation and security of Angola was
clearly in line with Nkrumah’s ideas, which argued that until settler colonialism was destroyed,
the entire continent of Africa would not be secure.

Though the realization of a United States of Africa is still far away, this issue continues to be
discussed broadly on the continent and in the Diaspora. The Organization of African Unity was
transformed into the African Union in 2002 in order to increase efforts aimed at the unification
of the continent. A Pan-African Parliament was formed and is now housed in the Republic of
South Africa.

The current chairman of the African Union, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, has continued to
stress the necessity of forming a continental government along the lines Nkrumah advocated
during the 1950s and 1960s.

In Ghana Nkrumah’s legacy was utilized in both a positive and a negative manner by the
successive regimes that took power after his departure. These regimes are compelled to use his
image and legacy, despite their refusal to adopt the CPP program in its totality.

In the United States and throughout the Diaspora, increasing identification with Africa has
occurred over the last forty years. The African community in America and the Caribbean played
an instrumental role in the solidarity struggle with the national liberation movements in southern
Africa during the 1980s and 1990s. Nkrumah’s views on the necessity of African unity have
been prophetic in light of the continuing underdevelopment of the continent and the phenomena
of domestic neocolonialism in the United States and the Caribbean. Consequently, the legacy of
Nkrumah is still relevant to the present-day struggle of African and other oppressed peoples
around the world.

A greater understanding of Nkrumah’s ideas and activities can only benefit the present efforts to
create a world that is genuinely independent and self-determined.

 
 THE PROCESS OF DECOLONISATION IN GHANA

The rise of political parties.

 Early attempts at self-government - opposition to British colonial rule.

 1947 - The United Gold Coast Conversion Party -This was the first organised party to call for

self-government.

 1949 - The Convention People's Party led by Kwame Nkrumah.

Negative effects of World War 11.

 Because of war-high rate of inflation and food shortages.

 Rapidly declining cocoa prices-farmers discontented.

The role of the Colonial Office.

On the advice and insistence of the Colonial office the government ordered the destruction of all

cocoa trees because of swollen shoot disease. This was a large source of revenue which the

enraged farmers said could have been saved by a simple application of spray.

Greater local representation.

After World War 11 greater local representation was introduced in the constitution. This resulted

in an increased sense of political awareness and a greater drive for self-government.

The evils of colonialism.

 High level of dependency on imported goods from Britain. This led to a nationwide boycott

of imported goods.

 No higher institutions of learning-citizens had to go away to access higher learning at

exorbitant costs.

 High level of illiteracy - 80 percent.

 Citizens could only access low paying jobs top jobs reserved for the British colonialists.
 High level of unemployment.

 Lack of proper social services-schools, hospitals, roads etc.

Strong spirit of nationalism.

 National consciousness developed especially after the world war.

 Ex-servicemen returned from the war disbanded and frustrated because of nonpayment of

benefits promised, pension gratuity allowances etc. unemployed,

 They came back with new ideas of freedom and democracy and selfrule.

 Young educated professional elites who returned from studying abroad had learnt new and

exciting concepts of liberation and revolution from the French and Russian Revolution. Could be

applied in their country.

 Unemployed people as well as urban and railroad workers became increasingly discontented

with British colonial rule.

The Accra Riots of 1948.

 Widespread destruction of property

 A high level of violence as a result of demonstrations led by angry and frustrated unemployed

ex-servicemen and joined by other citizens.-A reaction to colonialism.

 European owned stores burnt.

 A state of emergency called. Neighbouring troops brought in – 29 killed, 266 injured.

The role of Nkrumah as leader.

 Highly educated and intelligent.

 Organised the party efficiently.

 Mobilised trade unions and local farmers associations.

 Charismatic - had a large following. Appealed to the majority of peoplewho gave him their

loyal support.

 Discussed with everyone the nature and evils of colonialism

 Inspirational speaker.

 Supported urban industrial workers - ex-servicemen, teachers, lawyers,journalists, the

unemployed, farmers etc.

 Familiar with concepts of democracy and freedom.

 Determined to return to the Gold Coast to assist and lead the anti-colonial struggle.

 Formed strong links with other anti-colonial and Pan African Organisations in West African

colonies.

 Instrumental part of organisation of West African conferences aimed mainly at eradicating

colonial rule.

 Forged strong links with George Padmore and W.E.B. Dubois

 Wanted all of Africa liberated from foreign rule.

 Nkrumah’s philosophy of nonviolence inspired by Gandhi and the

decolonisation movement in India,

 Philosophy of 'Positive Action' and 'Self Government now' Promoted a sense of immediacy.

 Strikes and demonstrations organised by Nkrumah succeeded in shutting down the country.

 1948 Riots led the British Government to establish a commission of inquiry known as the

Watson Commission to evaluate the high level of unrest in the colony and what measures could

be instituted to ease the tension. The commission reported the people of Ghana needed a voice in

government, as a result the government called for the first elections of the Gold Coast
 1956 Nkrumah made the famous Motion of Destiny before asking the British to release the

colony.

The self-confidence and self-determination of all returning citizens.

 Pressure placed by the US and the USSR on European countries to release their colonies to

facilitate direct trade.

 African leaders mainly Nkrumah were inspired by the independence gained by India in 1947

and began to push for nonviolent liberation from colonial rule.

 Ghana had a spirit of unity among the people, Nkrumah believed that there is strength in

unity. There were no ethnic conflicts to retard the drive for political autonomy.

Cooperation with the British

 Nkrumah cooperated with the British and agreed to stay within the Commonwealth. This

pleased the British Government and facilitated the easy passage to independence.

 The new Assembly passed a motion authorizing the government to ask for independence.

Colonies were no longer seen as profitable for the British,

 Britain succumbed to national pressure

 Agreed to relinquish colonial rule.

Independence granted.

 March 6 1957 The Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana.

 The Legislative Assembly became The National Assembly.

 Nkrumah became the first Prime Minister.

 Ghana started a precedent of liberation and decolonization shortly followed by other African

countries.

 Eradicating colonial rule.

 Exposed to the writings teachings and philosophy of Marcus Garvey.
 POSITIVE ACTION – JANUARY 8, 1950

Nkrumah distinguished two stages in the campaign: first, the period of “positive action”, a
combination of nonviolent methods with effective and disciplined political action, and second,
the stage of “tactical action”, a sort of contest of wits. CPP organizers first prepared people
around the country for the first stage of civil resistance, the positive action phase. The
government responded by testing the strength of the organization and its tactics. Three CPP
journalists and the secretary of the Ex-Servicemen Union (partner organization) were imprisoned
on charges of sedition, but the bail was quickly raised and paid by CPP volunteers. Hoping to
forestall the threatened positive action campaign, government officials agreed to a conference
with CPP leaders, which began on January 5, 1950. The British asked Nkrumah to postpone
positive action while they studied the proposals put forward by the CPP and announced on the
radio that an agreement had been reached. The CPP reacted by breaking off the negotiations and
on January 8, 1950, called a mass meeting, telling the participants that a nation-wide boycott of
British goods and a general strike should begin at midnight that day. In his speech at that
meeting, Nkrumah presented the main weapons of positive action as being legitimate political
agitation, press and educational campaigns, and, as a last resort, the constitutional application of
strikes, boycotts and noncooperation based on the principle of absolute nonviolence. The strike
began at the set time.

The same day, Nkrumah travelled to other key cities – Cape Coast, Sekondi and Tarkwa –
formally declaring the onset of positive action in each of them, while CPP organizers spread the
word to other areas. The strike paralyzed the country. Nobody worked, transportation was
brought to a standstill, however, essential services like water, electricity and medical care
continued to work, as the nationalist leaders had agreed. Positive action continued for 21 days,
despite threats of dismissal of workers from jobs, numerous warnings and curfews, and the full
evocation of a state of emergency (called by the Governor).

Seeking to create division among the participants and put an end to the strike, the government
broadcasted radio “updates” of the situation, telling people in each city that strikers in other
regions had already gone back to work. To counteract the government manipulation, Nkrumah
called another mass meeting on January 11th, where he spoke for two hours to a large crowd. At
7 PM the same day, the Governor imposed a strict curfew and a series of emergency measures
(the state of emergency would last from January 11th to March 6, 1950): public meetings were
forbidden, all Party letters were opened and censored, an anti-African pogrom was encouraged
(with armed Syrian and European civilians enrolled as auxiliary police and allowed to terrorize
and even kill peaceful citizens), the Party newspaper and two others were banned and their
offices were raided by police and closed, the editors of the opposition publications were jailed,
together with many CPP leaders, including Nkrumah. None resisted the arrests. Nkrumah had
instructed the country to keep calm and make “no demonstrations of any kind”. Although
incidental violence on the part of the British occurred (for instance, Nkrumah’s personal assistant
and some of his companions were beaten), overall, they acted with restraint. One serious incident
marred the campaign: on January 17th, ex-servicemen staged a march to Christiansborg. The
marchers clashed with police forces sent to stop them and two policemen were killed. Nkrumah
did not stop the campaign and, at his trial, disclaimed responsibility for this “unauthorized
occurrence”. He and his colleague were convicted for “inciting others to take part in illegal
activities” and received prison sentences from six months to two years.

Positive action was over, but the solidarity it had demonstrated was channeled to electoral
activity. When elections for the town council took place in Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi, the
CPP won majorities in all three cities. In April 1950, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, one of the jailed
CPP leaders, was released from prison. He immediately took charge of the Party as chairman and
organized it for the forthcoming general elections (in the process creating a strong network of
party branches across the southern half of the colony), receiving directives smuggled out of
prison from the other leaders. 

The elections were held in February 1951, less than a year after the positive action campaign,
and the CPP swept the country, winning 35 out of 38 seats. The British then released the CPP
leaders who had remained in prison; they became the center of public ceremonies organized by
the Party to maintain the cult of martyrdom that had developed around its imprisoned leadership
and, as “prison graduates”, were awarded diplomas and celebrated almost as heroes. They
promptly occupied their government posts. The governmental structure contained all the defects
that they had protested against, but under Nkrumah’s leadership, they were worked out as the
Gold Coast moved rapidly towards full self-government and independence.