Hugh Horatio Cofie-Crabbe was a Ghanaian politician who is notable as being detained with two cabinet ministers for the Kulungugu bomb attempt on the life of Ghana's political leader

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

in 1962. At the time of being detained, he was the executive secretary of Nkrumah's

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Conven ...

and a widely known party functionary.

Career

Cofie-Crabbe was a member of the Accra Municipal Council. In April 1957, he lost his position on the council when it was suspended by the central government. He worked also as a sales assistant to a local trader. Cofie-Crabbe became the Senior District Commissioner of the Greater Accra Region before being employed as administrative secretary at the Convention’s People’s Party headquarters. He was appointed executive secretary of the Convention People's Party on the 1 May 1961, the same day Nkrumah assumed office as the general secretary of the party. As executive secretary of the CPP, he enjoyed the status of a minister. He accompanied Nkrumah on foreign trips. Cofie-Crabbe also served on the first school board of the Nungua Secondary School (now Nungua Senior High School) from 1960 to 1962.

Kulungugu Trial

On 29th August, 1962, he was placed in police detention together with two government ministers

Tawia Adamafio Tawia Adamafio (born Joseph Tawia Adams) was a Ghanaian minister in the Nkrumah government during the first republic of Ghana. Politics Adamafio was a member of the Convention People's Party and rose to become its General Secretary. In 1960, he ...

and Ako Adjei and dismissed from his post at the CPP headquarters. He was charged in connection to the grenade attack on

, the then president of Ghana in

Kulungugu Kulungugu is a small town in the Upper East Region of Ghana and a minor entry point at the border of Burkina Faso and the Pusiga District of Ghana. Kulungugu takes its name from the Bissa Language. The founder of Kulungungu was a Bissa man who ...

. He was trialed before a judge panel presided on by the chief justice Arku Korsah. His lawyers at the trial were Bernard da Rocha and Edward Moore. He was testified against by the party treasuer, A. Y. K. Djin. He was found not guilty by the judges but the decision of the judges were dissatisfying to Nkrumah who had him returned to detention cells with the removal of the judges. A new panel was reconstituted to hear the case and he was sentenced as guilty with a death sentence. In February 1965, Nkrumah commuted the sentence of the three accused for the bomb attempt to a 20 year prison term. On 13 May 1966, his 20 years sentence was voided by the an NLC decree signed by General

Joseph Ankrah Joseph Arthur Ankrah Born (18 August 1915 – 25 November 1992) was a Ghanaian army general who was the head of state of Ghana from 1966 to 1969 in the position of Chairman of the National Liberation Council. Before becoming head of state, Ankra ...

References

Possibly living people Year of birth missing Convention People's Party (Ghana) politicians {{Ghana-politician-stub