The cost of African liberation
That Kwame Nkrumah became the first president of the Republic of Ghana is a fact known to almost every Ghanaian. But just how did this visionary leader carry out the monumental task of liberating Africa? Despite the volumes written on this subject, many still have gaps in their understanding when it comes to appreciating the scope of the man’s labours.
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Sylvester A. Mensah has joined the band of writers whose publications attempt to shed some light on the life and times of this iconic African leader. In his recently published autobiography titled: ‘In the Shadows of Politics – Reflections from My Mirror,’ he reveals some hitherto unknown episodes in the great man’s life, giving us rare insight into the emancipation campaign he waged from his Flagstaff House headquartered in Accra, Ghana.
Today, many countries on our continent are ‘independent’. They are regarded as sovereign political entities that are able to determine their own destinies freely. Sadly, this state of affairs wasn’t the case. For centuries, countries all across the continent were gripped in the jaws of foreign colonial rulers who executed their unyielding agenda of siphoning natural resources for their own benefit, with ruthless efficiency. The development of Africa for Africans was anathema to their doctrine of imperialism. Consequently, the natural glow of Africa as a galaxy of Black stars shining gloriously in the cosmos was dimmed, as countless millions of our citizens were held down in the quagmire of doing the masters’ bidding. Extricating our continent from the repressions of colonialism – from the shackles of colonial authorities who plundered our natural resources with impunity– became a bloody affair which left many tales of misery in its wake. It took the courageous and determined leadership of men such as Kwame Nkrumah to spearhead the campaign leading to the emancipation of the continent we call home.
To illustrate the enormity of the task Kwame Nkrumah undertook in his book, Sylvester highlights some of the sacrifices of his dad, Lovelace P. C. Mensah, whom he describes as “one of the international foot soldiers of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah”. According to his account, Lovelace Mensah made himself available to Osagyefo unreservedly and the two “shared a lot of precious moments in each other’s company over many years”, which often resulted in Lovelace getting “sent out on foreign missions to speak to foreign heads of state and leaders of the African liberation movement … [and] to help forge consensus during the continent’s liberation struggle”.
Perhaps, the most unforgettable episode the reader encounters in his account of a man’s unflinching loyalty to the service of his country and leader occurred in the Congo during the turbulent years of that country’s history (in the late 1950s). Patrice Lumumba, an ally of Kwame Nkrumah and fellow freedom fighter, had just become the Prime Minister of Congo after a long struggle for independence from Belgium. One of the first steps he took as Prime Minister to free his country from the throes of colonialism was to implement his policy to ‘Africanise’ the Congolese military and to promote Joseph-Desire Mobutu (Mobutu Sese Sekou), a sergeant in the Congolese army, to the post of colonel and head of the army. But things deteriorated rapidly thereafter. In what might be thought of as the cruelest of ironies, Col Mobutu [perhaps the individual who benefitted the most from Lumumba’s vision] dismissed Lumumba and placed him under house arrest in September 1960.
Kwame Nkrumah saw an independent Congo as vital for the success of the African liberation agenda and had invested heavily in marshalling resources and support to prop up Lumumba. Allowing his ally in Congo to fall was not something he could countenance. Therefore, when he heard news of Lumumba’s arrest, he wasted no time in hatching a plan for his immediate release. He invited his trusted confidant, Lovelace Mensah, then stationed at the Ghana Embassy in Leopoldville, Congo, over to the Flagstaff House in Accra for a special message and “a two-paged handwritten letter” to be delivered to Patrice Lumumba in person.
“Papa returned to Leopoldville and began executing his mission with zeal,” the book recounts. He made his way to the secured location where Lumumba was being held captive and delivered his message. “Suddenly, they heard loud shouts, followed by a mad rush of feet – one after the other – advancing towards where they were. Patrice may not have finished reading the letter, but Papa snatched the two-paged document from his friend, chewed it and had just swallowed it when he found himself in the grip of macho soldiers and security guards, all armed with guns and truncheons. They shoved their fingers deep down Papa’s throat, slapped him innumerable times and severely beat him – all in a desperate attempt to retrieve the chewed-up letter. It was too late for them. The sheets of paper were safely buried in his tummy, never to be read by anyone.
“Papa had no choice. He simply had to do what he did. He was prepared to die rather than give away a handwritten letter of such political significance to the ‘enemy’. This inauspicious day was Wednesday, November 15,1960.”
Lovelace Mensah was released and flown home to Ghana after a sustained diplomatic onslaught on the Congolese government masterminded by Osagyefo. “The physical conditions that resulted from what he had endured in captivity were horrendous”, his son tells us in his book. According to him, he had aches and pains all over his body; movement of his limbs was laboured, parts of his torso felt numb, and his vision was blurred – all from the brutality and harshness of the battering he had received from his Congolese captors. In addition, he also reported some psychological trauma emanating from his treatment. Among these were spasmodic panic attacks from mental recall of guns pointed at his head, voices of soldiers barking threats and obscene orders at him and nightmares about some of the unimaginably grisly torture meted out to him.
“His recovery from all these took time. He had support from family, friends, colleagues and well-wishers; of course he did. The president himself stood by him, offering solace and words of encouragement to facilitate his speedy recovery.”
This rather intimate tale of valour and selflessness, narrated with such candour and in lucid prose, transports the reader into the battlefield of the African liberation movement of the 1960s- revealing a kaleidoscope of horrors- of anguish, fear, pain, torture, deceit, political intrigue of the darkest kind – which our courageous forebears must have endured in their struggle for liberty. It is impossible to read this episode and not be moved by the determination, tenacity and bravery of the human spirit to overcome injustice at all costs.
Another point the author illustrates in this episode is the sheer magnitude of the work involved in the efforts undertook by these pioneering freedom fighters to overturn the structures of colonialism. Sylvester Mensah ponders over that in the book and concludes: “The emancipation project to free Africa from the grip of colonialism was a massive undertaking. It took many years of sacrifice – of blood, sweat, and tears – to overturn that nefarious order and establish political independence across the length and breadth of our great continent.
“The unquestionably pivotal role played by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is well documented. What is helpful to remember always, though, is that his spectacular success depended on the dedication and heroism of many, many devoted followers, without whose untiring endeavours his achievements might not have been possible. Nkrumah himself was well aware of this and infused his writings and speeches with generous praises for his close associates.”
Writing in his preface to the book, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi insightfully describes ‘In the Shadows of Politics – Reflections from My Mirror’ as a book which “is as much a biography of Sylvester Mensah as it is a book about the politics of Ghana’s revolutionary decade (1982–92) and the politics of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. It is also a story about the role that Sylvester himself played, as shadowy as that role may have been in the politics of both eras.” The professor’s assessment is accurate and quite poignant because the author pulls the curtains back on untold, gripping encounters of his life and intriguing accounts of chess-like manoeuvres in the corridors of politics in his book, which leave the reader spellbound. What’s more, he does so with a sincerity and naturalness which is both breathtaking and beautiful in equal measure!
Anyone who is an avid fan of the history of Africa, especially the struggle for political freedom across the continent, should find Sylvester A. Mensah’s ‘In the Shadows of Politics – Reflections from My Mirror’ a truly alluring gift.