As of to date, March 14, 2019, it is unfortunately just a cover up news. The castle cannot be visited at this time uninvited! There are no museum facilities! The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board has said the Christiansborg Castle, popularly known as the Osu Castle is not a security installation but rather a museum. In the statement signed by the Acting Executive Director, Kingsley Ofosu Ntiamoah, the Board said the former seat of government now has a similar status like the Elmina and Cape Coast Castles backing government’s response that the facility is not a security zone but was being transformed into a museum. This denial comes on the back of a Joy News documentary which revealed how a pro-New Patriotic Party militia group is being trained at the Osu-based Castle. The documentary questioned why the facility which was supposed to be a security zone was being used for such purposes. The undercover work carried out by Manasseh Azure Awuni disclosed how a former bodyguard of President Akufo-Addo led the training of the militia group, De-Eye, on the grounds of public property. Operating for the past two years, the journalist found that the group had already provided security for a number of party functions which the president had been present. Government has already denied that the Castle is a security zone. Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said, “Indeed it is a facility operated by the Museums and Monuments Board, after President Akufo-Addo, on March 5, 2017, tasked the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to spearhead its transformation into a museum. “The general public may refer to news items of March 5, 2017, the date on which President Akufo-Addo gave that directive,” the statement added. The Board said “on March 5, 2017, the President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo publicly declared and inaugurated the Osu Castle as a Presidential Museum of Leadership and governance. “The Osu Castle has since this act, above stated, by the President of the Republic, has and to date remains a museum,” the statement said. However, Joy News’ check on the Board’s website on March 11, 2019, at 5 pm does not show the Christianborg Castle as one of the country’s numerous museums.
Below is a copy of the full statement: |
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February 2020
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