The Management of Mensah Sarbah Hall (MSH) has paid a courtesy call on the family of the late John Mensah Sarbah, in Cape Coast. This visit is part of the Hall's effort to strengthen ties with the late Statesman's family.
Dr. Roger Atinga, Master of Mensah Sarbah Hall, took advantage of the occasion to invite the family to the Hall's 60th Anniversary celebrations and the unveiling of the John Mensah Sarbah Statue. He also thanked the family for their continuous support in the Hall’s activities.
“This year, we are going to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Hall and a grand launch will be held on Friday 17th February 2023. The John Mensah Sarbah Statue will be unveiled in front of the Hall during the launch, and the Vice President of Ghana, among other dignitaries, will be present. There will also be a series of programmes commemorating the anniversary throughout the year until October. We would like to take advantage of this opportunity to invite the entire family to this memorable event," Dr Atinga disclosed.
He outlined some developmental projects that Management plans to undertake in the Hall, for which they intend to leverage on the anniversary celebrations to solicit support from various stakeholders, to improve the lives of residents.
“The building is quite old and we would like to bring it to good shape. We also want to build a garden to accommodate parents and students who come to visit,’’ Dr. Atinga noted.
The family was welcoming of all the initiatives and assured the delegation of their full support and participation in all the Hall’s projects and events.
The family then led the delegation to the late John Mensah Sarbah's grave.
The contingent from Mensah Sarbah Hall included Senior Tutor of the Hall, Dr. Daniel Darko; Deputy Senior Tutor, Dr. Yvonne Agbetsoamedo; MSH Bursar, Mr. Abraham Kumado; Professor Innocent Lawson, Former Hall Master (MSH); Mrs. Ruth Wiredu, Chief Administrative Assistant; Christian Canacoo, Senior Accounting Assistant; and Naomi Abla Bada, MSH Librarian.
Family members who received MSH delegation included: Kingsley Wilson, Deputy Head of the family; Gabriel Hopson, Family Secretary; Isaac Wilson, Ato Quansah, Jonah Annan, Tommy Kafui, Adjoa Essoun and Efua Annasiwa.
John Mensah Sarbah was born on Friday, 3 June, 1864, at Anomabu, in the Fante Confederacy in the Gold Coast. He was the eldest son of John Sarbah, a merchant of Anomabu and Cape Coast and a member of the Legislative Council of the Gold Coast. He was educated at the Cape Coast Wesleyan School, later renamed by Mensah Sarbah himself as Mfantsipim School and then at Queen's College in Taunton, Somerset, England. He subsequently entered Lincoln's Inn in London to train as a Barrister and was called to the English bar in 1887, becoming the first African from the Gold Coast to qualify in this way. He died in 1910.
The Mensah Sarbah Hall was named after the late Statesman to honour him as a distinguished Ghanaian patriot, Jurist and Scholar, and also to immortalise the ideals of knowledge, service and honour to which he so gallantly devoted his entire life.
