In Katankga, we rest not in our determination to pursue the best for our society

THE STORY OF THE ONLY LIVING EMPIRE IN GHANA.

THE SEAL IS BROKEN…. UNTOLD STORIES OF OLD UNFOLD NOW. THE MUCH AWAITED HISTORY OF ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING EMPIRES OF THIS WORLD UNFOLDS

Why the name “KATANGA”?

We come from many different backgrounds. Our names are countless and varied, some well known, others not very well known – the “old” and “new” generation. While some of us go by our formal names, others are recognized much easier by our informal, nicknames or the generic names, fellow, line mate, roommates, etc.

Katangees (all men) campaign against indecent exposure in Ghana during an annual hall week cerebration

The common denominator is that we belong to that noble hall, THE UNIVERSITY HALL (KATANGA). Our thoughts, words, and deeds have contributed, to a great extent, to shape the socio-political and other facets of life not only at the (Kwame Nkrumah) University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi but in Ghana as a whole.

A Short History Behind the Name KATANGA

The legend of The University Hall has a lot to do with its history and how it came to be known as KATANGA. Just before the hall was inaugurated, the Republic of Congo in Central Africa, with Patrice Lumumba as Prime minister, had been experiencing the early and unstable years of post-independence, reminiscence of many African countries. This situation was exacerbated when the Katanga province re-ignited its long-held desire to secede from the rest of the Congo Republic. The Congolese central government strongly opposed this secession idea. Not only was the Katanga province one of the most mineral rich and developed regions within Congo but the government felt that allowing any form of secession at the very tender age of the newly independent nation would spell its doom.

Congolese Revolutionary leader Patrice Lumumba was disposed by a CIA sponsored coup and subsequently murdered in cold blood

The events that followed led to the Congolese civil war that eventually culminated in the overthrow of Patrice Lumumba in 1960. In 1961, Lumumba was kidnapped (by CIA agents), tortured and later assassinated in Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga. Other unfortunate events in Congo during that period included the assassination of the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Das Hammerskjold. Many African countries including Ghana contributed troops to the UN peacekeeping force in the Congo, which later led to the end of the civil war. Katanga and Katangese became household names and were revered as the most important corner posts of the conflict.

Perhaps it was their unyielding zeal and aptitude in intelligently determining their own destinies and those they could aptly associate with that, members of the University Hall in seeing a parallel to the events in the Congo decided...CONTINUES>>>