“Lincoln and Post-9/11 US Did It Too” – Sir Sam Jonah Contextualizes Nkrumah’s Security Laws

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Sir Sam Jonah Defends Nkrumah’s Preventive Detention Act: "History Must Be Judged in Context"




Speaking at the opening of the 15th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Chancellor Sir Samuel Esson Jonah urged Ghanaians and scholars to evaluate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s controversial Preventive Detention Act (PDA) through a nuanced historical lens rather than outright caricature.

While acknowledging that the 1958 legislation remains a central flashpoint of criticism against Ghana’s founding father, Sir Jonah argued that understanding the extreme national security threats of that era is vital to assessing Nkrumah's constitutional legacy.


A Young Nation Under Threat

Sir Jonah reminded the audience that when the Act was passed in 1958, Ghana was a fragile state barely a year old, already facing severe internal turmoil and existential threats:
Political Instability & Violence: The young republic was grappling with political bombings, violent secessionist agitation in the Ashanti region, and early coup plots within its own military.



Direct Assassination Attempts: Nkrumah survived multiple life-threatening attacks, including the tragic 1962 Kulungugu grenade blast that killed a schoolgirl standing beside him, and a 1964 shooting at Flagstaff House by a member of his presidential guard.

"None of this makes preventive detention a good thing. It makes it a human thing – a thing to be weighed in context, not condemned in caricature," Sir Jonah stated.

Global Parallels in State Security

To demonstrate that emergency detentions are a common state reaction during existential crises rather than an isolated phenomenon, Sir Jonah drew comparisons to measures adopted by major western democracies:
  • United Kingdom: The internment of citizens under Regulation 18B during World War II.

 

  • United States (Civil War): President Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus during national division.

 

  • United States (Post-9/11): The rapid enactment of the Patriot Act following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Evaluating Nkrumah’s Wider Legacy

Sir Jonah stressed that while preventive detention remains deeply problematic, it should not overshadow Nkrumah’s broader contributions to Ghana's governance, including establishing the nation's first Republican Constitution in 1960.

Reflecting on Ghana's constitutional trajectory, Sir Jonah pointed out that the nation has now lived under a written constitution for 34 years, demonstrating a mature democratic journey that built upon the complex lessons of its early post-independence era.



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Location: Ghana

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