King of Elmina

[February 13th 1824- circa 1901]

Kobina Gyan, Edinahene, is described as one of the most remarkable rulers of Elmina in the book ‘Save Elmina’ published November 1995.  He ruled between 1868 and 1873 and between 1898 and his passing circa 1901.  He was exiled by the British colonial authorities in 1873 to Sierra Leone specifically because he was pro-Dutch and anti-British.

 He was born to Kobina Conduah, Edinahene [1863] and whilst his father reigned, he also was a sub king or Ohin Nadir Ekyen, acting as a prominent, well-versed linguist for the Edina community.  In 1867 the Anglo-Dutch Convention for an Interchange of Territory on the Gold Coast of Africa brought on a siege of Elmina by the Fante Confederacy and he authored the August 1868 petition to William III of the Netherlands.  Kobina Gyan requested the Kings support and help.

In January 1969, his father was removed from the kingship and Kobina was enstooled on the 15th of July 1869.  Initially, he sought the advice of the elite Elmina trader, George Emil Eminsang.  They went separate ways when Eminsang decided to work with the British on the cessation of Dutch possessions in the Gold Coast and Kobina Gyan maintained his strong posture against British rule.  Kobina Gyan was deposed by the Dutch Lieutenant Governor Jan Helenus Ferguson in November 1871 and after he was removed, Elmina was handed over to the British on the 6th of April 1872.   Seeing no other way to ensure they had control, Kobina Gyan was brought back as Edinahene by the Governor John Pope Hennessy on the 8th of May 1872.  The King did not at any time fly the English flag and rejected allowances ie. Kostgeld the British wanted to pay him.  Upon refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the British on the 12th of Marh 1873, he was exiled to Sierra Leone where he stayed for twenty-one years.  He returned to Elmina on the 17th of May 1894 and was proclaimed King.  However, he died a few years later and will be remembered as a courageous king who stood up for what he believed was right for his people.  In May 2005, the Trafalgar Square in Elmina was renamed the Kobina Gyan Square and a statue of the great King was unveiled.