On the hills of Karimenga in the North East Region of Ghana stands a two-bedroom apartment dilapidated and abandoned for reasons that cannot be told. It is believed to be the hideout of Ghana’s First President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Built with hard blocks and galvanized iron so many years ago, the building still appears strong with scruffy walls, warn out ceilings and broken Water Closets.
The building has a water reservoir and a detached structure is in the same condition as the main building.
Upon our visit to the community, we discovered through Godwin Wuni who is an opinion leader of the community that the building was a place of rest for Ghana’s first President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
According to him, while the President was alive, he used the building anytime he visited the Upper East region.
With the kind of architecture, the President created an emergency exit behind his room where he could bolt in case some people came for his life.
Godwin Wuni told MyNewsGh.com that the existence of the building in the community brought hope to the people because Kwame Nkrumah provided them with a water reservoir where they could have access to potable water while the detached building was used as an office for Kasajan Quarry that employed many of the people in the community.
However, the building has been abandoned since the President’s death and although Tourism Authorities have on several occasions visited the facility, they are yet to do anything about it.
Currently, the building is surrounded by weeds and some portion of the building now serving as the hideout for smokers who smoke and defecate in the edifice.
For Godwin, a renovation of the building will help improve the fortunes of the community since it will bring in foreign exchange and also provide some level of employment for the people.
With Ghana’s huge investment in the Year of Return and huge investment in “Destination Ghana”, a look at this facility could also go a long way in boosting the tourism sector in the North East region of the country.
Karimenga is a farming community located a few meters drive from the Upper East regional capital, Bolgatanga. The people here depend on subsistence farming with hardly any proper commercial activity going on.
The Community has one basic which ends at Primary six and pupils so pupils who would want to continue their basic education will have to walk to an adjoining community to further their education.
