Nkrumah’s personal photographer gives details of the 4 bomb attacks he survived

The discussion on the legacy of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and his status as the founder of the country divided Ghanaians over the past few weeks.

This was after leading members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cast doubts on the reverence given to Nkrumah as the sole founder of Ghana.

History shows the divisiveness among Ghanaians over Nkrumah started when he was alive, which saw him receiving not only verbal attacks but physical ones as well.

Nkrumah is arguably the country’s leader who survived the most assassination attempts in its history. Nkrumah himself, in his book, “Dark Days in Ghana”, stated that at least six assassination attempts were made against him.

His personal photographer, Dr. Chris Tsui Hesse, in an interview with Onua TV, listed four bomb attacks the first president of Ghana survived.

Dr. Tsui Hesse said that the first bomb attack was in Kulungugu, a small town in the Upper East Region, on August 1, 1962, as the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah stopped his convoy to interact with some students on the road while travelling back to the country from Burkina Faso.

He said that most of the children who were displaying for the president were decimated by the bomb, and it was the intervention of Nkrumah’s ADC, Captain Buckman, that saved his life.

“When we got to Kulungugu, we knew that there was no stopping there, but Nkrumah saw the kids and stopped. And because of the dust, there were distances between the vehicles. So, when he stopped, he sat in the car and waited. So, when I got there, he was there. So, I parked behind him, and he gave me the sign that I should film this. So, I prepared my camera and went out. And then he came out and was going towards where the formation was. And then Captain Buckman was then the ADC, and he was following him (Nkrumah) with the security people.

“… I was in the middle, and the action was in the background. The school kids were performing something beautiful. And on my right side, Nkrumah was moving towards the kids. On my left side, Adamafio and the ministers were moving. I was in the centre. So, it was. I had this appetite for not missing. It was so beautiful. I was just standing there to capture because my lens was capturing everything in detail. Then, immediately before Nkrumah passed and the ministers passed, Captain Buckman booted him (Nkrumah) down and put his body on him,” he narrated.

He said that immediately after Captain Buckman shielded Nkrumah, the bomb went off, and body parts were flying all over the place. He said that the first president of Ghana survived the attack and only got some bruises and was rushed to a health facility in Bawku for treatment.

Dr. Tsui Hesse said that the second bomb attack was at the then seat of the presidency, the Flagstaff House, where a bomb exploded as a cultural troupe was performing for the late president, which led to the death of a lot of people.

The third bomb attack, he said, was at the Accra Sports Stadium, again during a performance by a cultural troupe, which also killed a number of people.

The veteran photographer added that the fourth bomb attack was at Lucas House, around the UTC area, which led to the death of a staff member of the Information Services Department.

Watch his remarks in the video below: