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Celebrating the 129th Anniversary of the birth of Shirley Graham Du Bois, a Pan-Africanist
Born on November 11, 1896, Shirley Graham Du Bois was a pioneering African American writer, composer, historian, and civil rights activist whose voice helped shape the cultural and political landscape of the twentieth century.
In 1961, she traveled to Ghana with her husband, the legendary scholar and Pan-Africanist Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, at the invitation of President Kwame Nkrumah. While Dr. Du Bois laid the intellectual foundation of Pan-Africanism, Shirley gave it rhythm, colour, and voice.
She played a key role in introducing television to Ghana and worked closely with President Kwame Nkrumah to build a new national broadcast identity.
She later became Ghana’s first woman to direct the nation’s television service (Ghana Television), using
media to celebrate African identity and independence.
In her own right, Shirley set remarkable records. She was the first African American woman to write and produce an all-Black opera, Tom-Tom: An Epic of Music and the Negro (1932).
She was also among the first Black women to earn a master’s degree from
Oberlin College and one of the earliest to publish widely read biographies of Black heroes such as Frederick Douglass and Paul Robeson.
Her books were later included in U.S. school curricula in the 1940s.
Her final years were spent in China, where she continued to champion peace and equality until her passing in 1977.
Today, her ashes rest beside her husband’s at the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in Accra, a lasting symbol of their shared dream of a united and liberated Africa.
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A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
