Accra, April 3, – Zimbabwean President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa has paid glowing tribute to Ghana’s Founding President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, describing him as a symbol of African inspiration and liberation, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.
President Mnangagwa, who is on a three-day state visit to Ghana at the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama, laid a wreath at Nkrumah’s tomb and observed a minute of silence in honour of the late statesman’s enduring contribution to the continent’s freedom struggle. He was received at the memorial by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, and later taken round the park by Dr Collins Rawlings Nunyonameh, Acting Executive Director of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Ghana’s Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, accompanied him during the visit.
In a heartfelt entry in the visitor’s book, the Zimbabwean leader recounted childhood memories of Dr Nkrumah’s influence, saying that as a pupil in 1958, he and other students had dressed in white sheets to imitate the Ghanaian leader, whom they regarded as a hero. He said he felt deeply honoured to have been given the opportunity to personally record his thoughts about a man whose vision and courage helped shape Africa’s liberation history. His tribute, rich in nostalgia and admiration, underscored the special place Nkrumah continues to occupy in the political imagination of Africa’s liberation generation.
The visit to the memorial was followed by a tour of the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre in Accra, where President Mnangagwa expressed admiration for the facility’s advanced cancer treatment services powered by nuclear technology. Accompanied by Dr Pelpuo, he described the centre as a model of modern healthcare delivery and said he envisioned a similar high-tech medical institution in Zimbabwe to improve cancer treatment and strengthen his country’s health system. Established in 2007 as a Ghanaian-Swedish joint venture and officially inaugurated in 2012, the centre pioneered specialised oncology services in West Africa, offering radiotherapy and chemotherapy before being fully acquired by the Ghana National Association of Teachers in 2020.
President Mnangagwa also visited the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, where he witnessed Ghana’s practical approach to sustainable waste management. Conducted around the facility by Jospong Group Executive Chairman Joseph Siaw Agyepong, he observed the plant’s recycling and composting operations and commended the initiative as a notable African example of innovation in environmental protection. He said the visit demonstrated the potential for Ghana and Zimbabwe to deepen cooperation, exchange knowledge, and replicate successful homegrown solutions to sanitation and waste challenges across the continent.
The three visits formed part of a broader state engagement that highlighted the historical ties, shared aspirations, and growing cooperation between Ghana and Zimbabwe. President Mnangagwa’s tour placed emphasis not only on Ghana’s liberation legacy, but also on its expanding capacity in health innovation and environmental management, areas that could inspire similar development back home.
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