The first president of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah recounts the severe hardships his family faced following the coup by the National Liberation Council on February 24, 1966, in his book Dark Days in Ghana.

Nkrumah, who spent his post-coup years in exile, described the intense persecution his family endured under the new military regime. He highlighted the plight of his 80-year-old, visually impaired mother, who was forcibly removed from the Flagstaff House under harsh conditions.

The regime pressured Nkrumah's mother to appear before a Commission of Inquiry to falsely declare that she was not his biological mother and that he was not Ghanaian. Despite the coercion, Nkrumah expressed his pride in his mother's unwavering dignity and refusal to succumb to the regime's attempts at historical distortion.

“My mother, 80 years old and almost blind, who was staying at Flagstaff House, was forcibly ejected and told to go 'where you belong.' I understand some friends took her to Nkroful where I was born. Later, the actual house in which I was born was burnt down on 'N.L.C.' orders.

“My mother was forced to appear before a 'commission of enquiry' with the idea of making her admit that I was not her son and indeed was not a Ghanaian at all. I am proud to know that she resolutely refused to say anything of the sort and conducted herself with the utmost dignity,” Nkrumah wrote on page 25 of his book.

Nkrumah also recounted how his wife, Fathia Nkrumah, and their children were expelled from their home and sought refuge at the Egyptian Embassy. Soldiers ransacked their residence, seizing personal belongings, including rare books and manuscripts. Although his family was not physically harmed, they were forced to leave without taking any possessions.

“In the six-roomed two-storey house where I lived with my family, troops were allowed to run riot, seizing clothes and other intimate personal possessions including rare old books and manuscripts.

“My wife and children, although not physically harmed, were not permitted to take a single thing with them when they were turned out of the house and forced to take refuge in the Egyptian Embassy,” Nkrumah recalled.

Nkrumah's account vividly illustrates the personal and familial sacrifices he and his loved ones made during a tumultuous period in Ghana's history.