CLELAND, GEORGE FRANK

George Frank Cleland (1830-1887) was a Ga merchant, a justice of the peace, and an enlightened and popular divisional chief of James Town, Accra, who became a member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council.

PHOTO CAPTION: George Frank Cleland. SOURCE: EA Library

He was born in 1830, the son of Frank Cleland, a great-grandson of Kofi Akrashie, a famous Manche (chief) of James Town. He was educated at Accra Wesleyan School, at which he later taught until he was transferred to Prampram, a coastal town 25 mi (40 km) east of Accra, where he built a school and actively promoted the education of the local children. He later abandoned teaching, and in the 1860s became a successful merchant.

When the Anlo (Awuna) War of 1866 broke out between the British and their Accra and Akuapem allies on the one hand, and the Anlo on the east bank of the Volta River on the other, Cleland is said to have helped to save Prampram from the Anlo people. He was a member of the managing committee of six who were elected by the educated Africans of Accra in August 1869 to act in conjunction with the kings of James Town, “Dutch” Accra, and Christiansborg to formulate plans for the defense of Accra against a threatened Asante invasion.

In June 1870, Cleland and another merchant, John A. Nelson, gave credit worth some £240 to the linguist (interpreter) Dompre, a member of the royal family of the state of Akyem Kotoku, to enable him to sustain his campaign of resistance against the Asante forces then in Krepi, a group of states on the east bank of the Volta, 60 mi (96 km) inland, and thus to help stem the tide of invasion threatening the coast. He also took part in the Sagrenti War of 1873-74. It is also said that he helped to check unnecessary bloodshed in the fierce “Agbuntso” War which occurred between the people of James Town and those of Ussher Fort, also in Accra.

In October 1873 he was recommended for appointment as a justice of the peace. When Kofi Oku, Manche of James Town, died, Cleland was chosen as regent by the people of James Town, and ruled the town firmly until his death. He took care to ensure that his authority rested on the consent, cooperation, and goodwill of his subjects. He maintained no prison, and for several years held no formal court, preferring to have disputes settled by family arbitration.

His integrity and his interest in the well-being of his people won him great respect and he exercised as much influence and authority as other contemporary rulers who relied on court fines and imprisonment to exact obedience. Cleland’s integrity and popularity as a leader led the Gold Coast government to make greater use of his services. In 1886 he was appointed as one of the two unofficial members of the Gold Coast Legislative Council.

When the W. H. Quayle-Jones Commission was set up in January 1887 to investigate the relationship between (paramount chief of the Akyem Abuakwa) Amoako Atta I and the Christian community in that state, Cleland was appointed as a member representing the interests of Amoako Atta.  To allay the fear of widespread persecution with which the Basel Missionaries were seized on hearing of Amoako Atta’s sudden death in Accra, the British governor, Sir William Brandford Griffith (term of office 1885-95) asked Cleland to send two of his captains to Kyebi, the capital of Akyem Abuakwa, to watch over the state of affairs during the Okyehene’s funeral, and to protect the property of the missionaries and other Christians. The captains accordingly went to Kyebi in February 1887.

Cleland died in December 1887, leaving behind a record of distinguished public service.

R. ADDO-FENING