Ghana became independent in March 1957 amid great celebration. A year later, in July 1958, Parliament passed a law that would cast a long shadow over that achievement. The Preventive Detention Act allowed the government to detain people for up to five years without charge or trial if they were considered a threat to state security. The government of Kwame Nkrumah said the law was needed to protect the young nation from plots and unrest. Over the following years, it was used against many political opponents.
The background, the law and Danquah
In the years after independence, Ghana faced political tension, including regional opposition and fears of plots against the government. The act gave the government power to detain individuals without trial for up to five years. Detainees had limited ability to challenge their detention in court. Soon after the law passed, opposition figures were detained, accused of plotting against the government.
The act was later amended, and detention periods could be renewed, meaning some people were held for many years. J.B. Danquah, a leading nationalist and one of the founders of the United Gold Coast Convention, was detained under the act. He died in Nsawam prison in 1965.
Detainees, the one-party state and repeal
Many politicians, journalists and ordinary people were detained. Estimates of the total number vary. By 1964, after a referendum, Ghana became a one-party state, with the Convention People’s Party as the only legal party. Critics at home and abroad condemned the act as a violation of human rights and the rule of law. Supporters argued that the country faced genuine threats, including assassination attempts on Nkrumah, and that firm measures were needed.
After the 1966 coup that overthrew Nkrumah, detainees were released, and the act was repealed.
Legacy and life in detention
The act remains a controversial part of Nkrumah’s legacy, debated by historians and politicians to this day. The 1992 Constitution includes strong protections for personal liberty, partly in response to Ghana’s history of detention without trial. Accounts from former detainees describe harsh conditions in prisons such as Nsawam, with limited contact with family and no way of knowing when they would be released.
Ghana’s first leader is celebrated on its banknotes and in its public squares. The Preventive Detention Act is the part of his record those squares rarely mention.
