2ND RT. HON. R.S BLAY MEMORIAL LECTURE SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 23
The second edition of the memorial lecture for Rt. Hon. R.S Blay, a founding member and the first Vice President of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, first President of the Ghana Bar Association, among others, themed; “R.S Blay, UGCC & the Struggle for Ghana’s Independence”, is slated for June 23, 2023, at the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) at 10:00 a.m. prompt.
Rt. Hon. R.S Blay played vital roles in Ghana’s road to independence which include, his enormous contributions in the Aborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS) and the West African Students Union in London, in agitating for the liberation of his beloved country, his joint efforts with George Alfred Grant (Paa Grant), Dr. J.B Danquah and others, in their fight for independence for Ghana, then Gold Coast, etc.
The close friendship he formed with Dr. J.B Danquah was what can be described as the beginning of the formation of the UGCC, as he, together with Mr. George Alfred Grant, Dr. J.B Danquah and Lawyer Awoonor-Williams joined forces to form a mass political movement, which birthed the UGCC, which was inaugurated on 4th August, 1947.
During the arrest of his six colleagues, who were later referred to as “the big six”, Rt. Hon. R.S Blay and some other colleagues of the UGCC employed the services of a British, Lawyer Dingle Foot Kings Counsel along with other Gold Coast lawyers and defended the big six on the orders of the Watson Commission for their release, as he was placed on a house arrest for a day.
The memorial lecture is set to be attended by the Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Rt. Hon. Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, Presidential Advisor on HIV/AIDS and former Ghana High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, H.E Dr. (Mrs) Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, Vice Chancellor of TTU, Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun, Pro Vice Chancellor of TTU, Prof. Victor Kweku Bondzie Michah, Registrar of TTU, Dr. Moses Maclean Abnory, Director of Finance of TTU, Dr. Gabriel Sam Ahinful, among other dignitaries.
BY: Deborah Acquah
