Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park

The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum is in downtown Accra.  The Mausoleum is the final resting place of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72). The museum hosts rare artefacts relating to Ghana’s independence and tours at the park give visitors an in-depth history of the Sub-Saharan struggle for independence.  The mausoleum was designed by Don Arthur and houses the mortal remains of Dr Nkrumah and his wife Fathia Nkrumah (1932-2007).  The mausoleum represents an upside-down sword which in the Akan culture is a symbol of peace.  It is clad from top to bottom with Italian marble, with a black star at its apex to symbolize unity.  The interior of the mausoleum has marble flooring and a mini mastaba-looking marble grave marker surrounded by river-washed rocks.  Adjacent to it is a man-made lake with fountains and statues and there is a museum tracing Nkrumah’s life.