King Prempeh Comes Home to Kumasi

Prempeh was the king of the Asante people. On 11 November 1924, he came to Takoradi by ship. Takoradi is a town by the sea in the Gold Coast. The British took Prempeh away in 1896. He was away from his country for 28 years.

Prempeh did not stop at the sea. He went to Kumasi by train at night. Kumasi is the big city of the Asante. The train stopped at Sekondi. Thousands of people were there. They said hello to their king.

Prempeh was an old man now. He wore a European suit and a hat. About 50 Asante people came with him. Most of them were born in the Seychelles. The Seychelles are islands in the Indian Ocean. Prempeh lived there for many years.

Prempeh became king in 1888. The British wanted his land. He said no. In January 1896, a British army came to Kumasi. Prempeh told his people not to fight. Nobody fired a gun. The British took the king. They took things from his palace too.

In 1924, the British were afraid of trouble. The train did not go into Kumasi. It stopped at Kaase, near the city. Prempeh got off the train there. A car took him to a house. Many people in Kumasi did not see him. But they were happy. Their king was home.

The British built a new house for Prempeh. The Asante people paid for it. Prempeh asked for the old things from his country back. He died in 1931.

Today his house is a museum. In May 2024, the museum showed old gold things from the British Museum and other museums. There was a small gold bird and a gold ring. Osei Tutu II is the Asante king today. He stood in the old rooms of Prempeh. He said the gold things are the soul of the Asante people.