A leader of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, popularly known as J.B. Danquah, died at the Nsawam Prison on February 4, 1965.
According to reports from the Commission of Enquiry into the Ghana Prisons, 1967 -1968, J.B. Danquah suffered a severe heart attack and died in his condemned cell at the Nsawam Prison at the age of 69.
Prior to his arrest and incarceration, J.B. Danquah was a distinguished politician, and civil rights activist who played a significant role in Ghana’s fight for freedom and independence.
He also actively contributed to the return of Kwame Nkrumah from overseas to Ghana.
The two (Danquah and Nkrumah) were once key members of the UGCC.
This GhanaWeb article highlights the two main reasons for which J.B. Danquah was arrested and jailed twice under Kwame Nkrumah‘s time.
J.B. Danquah was detained under the Preventive Detention Act
J.B. Danquah was first arrested and detained by the Convention People’s Party (CPP) government led by Kwame Nkrumah under the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) on October 3, 1961.
The PDA has been described by justiceghana.com, a law journal, as a pernicious piece of legislation which conferred unfettered power on Kwame Nkrumah, as Prime Minister and later President of Ghana, to order the arrest and imprisonment of any citizen without trial.
For his first arrest, he was released on June 22, 1962.
J.B. Danquah was arrested for his involvement in a plot against Nkrumah
On January 8, 1964, J.B. Danquah was re-arrested and detained for his alleged involvement in a plot against Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
This arrest occurred in the wake of accusations linking him to Police Constable Seth Ametewee’s failed assassination attempt on Nkrumah on January 2, 1964.
The attempt tragically resulted in the death of Nkrumah’s bodyguard, Salifu Dagarti.
Reports are that J.B. Danquah was allegedly found in possession of his own signed, hand-written speech which he intended for broadcast in the wake of the success of Police Constable Seth Ametewee’s attempted assassination on Nkrumah.
