Dr Eric George Alexander Don-Arthur designed the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Ever wondered who designed the beautiful Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the place that houses the mortal remains of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and his wife, Fathia? Well, it was a Ghanaian architect known as Dr. Eric George Alexander Don-Arthur.
He is also known as Nana Kow Abaka Kwandaho and was born in Kumasi in 1939.
Dr. Arthur, who is still alive to see his handiwork being appreciated by many, was the brain behind the design you see anytime you visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum.
The Memorial Park and Mausoleum was constructed in 1990 by the late Jerry John Rawlings and was opened to the public in 1992.
The mausoleum is clad from top to bottom with Italian marble, with a black star at its apex to symbolise unity.
It is meant to represent an upside-down sword, which in Akan culture is a symbol of peace. Nkrumah was known for preaching unity for harmonious living.
Others also view it as a tree trunk.
The concept of the tree-trunk-designed edifice symbolises the unfinished work of the late founder and former president of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, before his overthrow by a military regime.
Speaking on GhanaWeb TV’s People and Places with Ernestina Serwaa Asante, the Director of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum, Edward Quao, said, “The mausoleum has a particular concept behind the way it is designed. So, it looks like a trunk of a tree, which represents the fact that he could not finish what he was doing for us before his overthrow. So, more or less, it kind of represents Dr. Nkrumah’s unfinished work.”
Dr. Eric George Alexander Don-Arthur also known as Nana Kow Abaka Kwandaho was born in Kumasi, Bantoma in 1939.
He attended Ghana National College, established by Kwame Nkrumah. He joined the Civil Service and was posted to the Economic Development Commission at the office of the Prime Minister as an office clerk.
He later joined Attok Fisheries Company where he worked as a tally clerk at the cold store and one of the fishing trawlers.
In 1961 he went to Moscow, USSR to further his education on a State-sponsored scholarship. In 1968, he received his MSc. (Arc).
He returned home in March 1969 to research and gather materials in housing design and construction for his doctorate degree. He was employed by the Public Works Department as an Architect at the office of the Chief Architect, Mr. Ludlam. And finally in 1975 he gained his PhD (Arc).
Dr. Don-Arthur joined the PNDC and became the first Minister for Roads and Highways and birthed the Departments of Urban Roads and Feeder Roads.
He was Minister for Works and Housing, Western Regional Minister, Central Regional Minister and also headed the State Committee for Economic Corporation which developed the ties with Eastern European Countries and signed the Technical and Economic Corporation agreement with China, Romania, German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary and the Czechoslovakia.
The author also designed and supervised the construction of the Kwame Nkrumah grotto at Nkroful, Western Region.
Dr. Don-Arthur was a Senior Presidential Staffer and Advisor to the late President, John Evans Atta Mills. After his demise, Dr Arthur was commissioned to design and supervise the construction of the Asomdwee Park which interns the remains of the late President Mills.
He designed and supervised the erection of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s iconic statue at the frontage of the African Union building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the presidency of H. E. John Mahama, the author was commissioned to design and build the Kwame Nkrumah Water Gardens which the people named and called “Ghana’s Dubai Fountains”.
Dr. Don-Arthur is a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects.
Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:
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