Freemasonry in Ghana


The history of Freemasonry in Ghana can be traced to the early nineteenth century when the first Masonic lodge was consecrated in the country. The practice of Freemasonry was imported to the then Gold Coast and other Commonwealth realms by European residents in the nation during the British colonial era. Most of the lodges in Ghana are governed by the United Grand Lodge of England and Wales, Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Similar to their sister organisations worldwide, Ghanaian masonic fraternities are strictly apolitical and non–religious societies.

History

Like other lodges in the six million–member global fraternity, Ghanaian Freemasons are expected to believe in a Creator or a Supreme Being. Membership is open to all irrespective of ethnicity or social background. The oldest grand lodges were consecrated in England, Ireland, France, the United States and Scotland. Membership is either by invitation only or free–will depending on the geographic region.
The inspiration for freemasonry is connected to the ancient days of the biblical Solomonic Temple, 4000 years ago, through to the craft of stonemasonry in the Middle Ages. The craft of Freemasonry is found in the Holy Books, the old charges or old manuscripts and old lodge charters dating to circa 1390, and in Masonic books. In Europe and Ottoman territories, each country formed its own Masonic Speculative Lodges and Grand Orient Lodges. There have been records of ancient lodges in Beirut, Damascus and Tripoli.

Principles

Members are taught the principles of fellowship and friendships with emphasis on education, personal integrity, personal responsibility, character, morality, ethics, philanthropy and social/charitable contributions. Historically, the core principles of Ghanaian Freemasonry include brotherly love, relief and truth. Masonic meetings forbid political discussions. While its laws are made public, the internal affairs of Ghanaian Freemasonry are considered private.

District Grand Lodge of Ghana

The records of the first lodges on the Gold Coast indicate that the Torridzonian Lodge No. 621 was consecrated in 1810. In 1833, another lodge, Cape Coast Lodge No. 599 was constituted. By 1863, both lodges had become defunct. In 1859, the United Grand Lodge of England constituted the Gold Coast Lodge, No. 1075 English Constitution, which has been active since that period. At the turn of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, several lodges were consecrated under the English Constitution of the UGLE:
The Grand Lodge of Scotland entered the fray in 1921 when it issued a charter to establish Lodge Progressive No. 1261 on 30 November 1921, in Cape Coast. Subsequently, a series of lodges were consecrated under the Scottish constitution:
As more lodges were erected, a petition by the ten Lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England for a District Grand Lodge was granted. The District Grand Lodge of the Gold Coast under the English Constitution was inaugurated in Accra on 9 May 1931. In January 1953 the seven Gold Coast Lodges under the Grand Lodge of Scotland petitioned for a District Grand Lodge of the Gold Coast under the Scottish Constitution which was inaugurated on 17 January 1953. When Ghana attained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, the St. Patrick Lodge No. 793, was consecrated on 16 March 1957 and was the sole Lodge in Ghana Warrant granted by the Grand Lodge of Ireland for 14 years. Thus, all three of the “Home Grand Lodges" had representation in Ghana. Beginning in 1971, six new Lodges were consecrated under Warrant granted by the Grand Lodge of Ireland:
The seven Lodges, operating under the Irish constitution petitioned and received approval for a Provincial Grand Lodge of Ghana, formed on 1 September 1973. In early 1994, a lecture titled “Let us Have a United Grand Lodge of Ghana” was presented at the meeting of Unicorn Lodge No. 8840, English Constitution with proposals made to achieve the unification objective. The Ghanaian quantity surveyor, politician and a Freemason, Harry Sawyerr delivered a speech at the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Lodge St. Andrew No. 1299 Scottish Constitution, outlining how recognition for the United Grand Lodge of Ghana could be achieved.
On 9 June 2003, at an Open Forum held under the aegis of the Concordia Lodge No. 7199, English Constitution, with representatives from all the three Masonic Constitutions in Ghana, the idea of the United Grand Lodge of Ghana was discussed at length. In 2004, the Provincial Grand Master of Ghana Irish Constitution, Nana Herman Mould and the District Grand Master Scottish Constitution, Charles William Stanley–Pierre and District Grand Master of Ghana English Constitution, Kow Abaka Quansah conferred on establishing the Grand Lodge of Ghana. The then Provincial Grand Master–Designate of the Irish Constitution, John Atta–Quayson, attended the meeting. Other Masons who advocated for a joint lodge were Fredua, Mensah, then Provincial Grand Master of the Irish Constitution, D. S. Quarcoopome, then District Grand Master Scottish Constitution and later still Nana Herman A. Mould as Provincial Grand Master, Irish Constitution. The District Grand Lodge of Ghana, English Constitution was not in favour of a Grand Lodge of Ghana and therefore the unified entity was limited to the Scottish District and the Irish Province. Thus none of 57 English Constitution Lodge joined the Grand Lodge of Ghana.

Grand Lodge of Ghana

The Provincial Grand Master, Irish Constitution and District Grand Master, Scottish Constitution, formed a Joint–Committee for rolling out the steps for establishing the Grand Lodge of Ghana. Within three years, the committee produced a draft Constitution and Laws for the Grand Lodge of Ghana, Ritual for Opening and Closing Grand Lodge, Regalia and paraphernalia for Grand Lodge, Provincial Grand Lodges and Subordinate Lodges, as well as miscellaneous Documents, including Warrants, Letters of Commission, Forms and Books of administration. Fundraising activities for the formation of the Grand Lodge were also developed and periodic progress reports issued to the aspiring members. The Joint–Committee transformed into a Steering Committee for the formation of the lodge. For further deliberations, four open for a were held at the:
A consultative assembly of accredited lodge members was convened to review and approve the draft constitution and laws on Saturday 7 June 2008. On Saturday 12 July 2008, the Electoral College assembled to elect the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ghana. Approximately 49 subordinate Lodges, made up of 21 Irish Lodges and 28 Scottish constitute the foundation lodges under novel warrants granted by the Grand Lodge of Ghana with new numbering based on the date of Consecration/Constitution and grouped into three Provincial Grand Lodges:
The Grand Lodge of Ghana was formally founded on 24 January 2009 as a "Sovreign Masonic Body" under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, led by the Grand Master George Dunlop, and Grand Master Mason of Scotland, Charles Iain Robert Wolridge Gordon of Esselmont. The United Grand Lodge of England was the first Grand Lodge to pass a resolution to recognise the newly–constituted Grand Lodge of Ghana. Charles William Stanley–Pierre was installed the first Grand Master. In 2013, he was succeeded by Otwasuom Osae Nyampong VI. The motto of the Grand Lodge of Ghana is “That All Shall Be One.”

Chapters

The following are the chapters of Masonic chapters in Ghana:
ChapterLocation
Gold Coast Chapter No. 773Cape Coast
Victoria Chapter No. 2392Accra
Secondi Chapter No. 3238Sekondi
Taquah Chapter No. 3356Tarkwa
Ashanti Chapter No. 3717Kumasi.
St. George’s Chapter No. 3851Sekondi–Takoradi
McCarthy Chapter No. 4132Kumasi
Accra Chapter No. 3063Accra
Harmoni Chapter No. 4190Accra
Three Pillars Chapter No. 4867Accra
Amity Chapter No. 7140Accra
Concordia Chapter No. 7199Accra
Mfantsiman Chapter No. 7260Cape Coast
Osu Chapter No. 7627Accra
Excelsior Chapter No. 7670Kumasi
Winneba Chapter No. 7708Winniba
Adisadel Chapter No. 7791Cape Coast
University of Technology Chapter No. 7792 SCKumasi
Tamale Chapter No. 7823Tamale
Legon Chapter No. 8266Achimota
Asanteman Chapter No. 8351Kumasi
Chapter Of Perfection No. 8559Accra
Public Service Chapter No. 8587Accra
Togo Chapter No. 8605Lome, Togo
Volta Chapter No. 8652Ho
Okwawuman Chapter No. 8754Abetifi
Meridian Chapter of Installed 1st Principals No. 9386Accra

Lodges

Lodges established in different cities in Ghana include:
LodgeLocation
Gold Coast Lodge No. 773Cape Coast
Victoria Lodge No. 2392Accra
Accra Lodge No. 3063Accra
Sekondi Lodge No. 3238Sekondi–Takoradi
Taquah Lodge No. 3356Tarkwa
Ashanti Lodge No. 3717Kumasi
St. George’s Lodge No. 3851Sekondi–Takoradi
McCarthy Lodge No. 4132Kumasi
Harmonic Lodge No. 4190Accra
Three Pillars Lodge No. 4867Accra
Travellers Lodge No. 6758Accra
Amity Lodge No. 7140Accra
Wassaw Lodge No. 7141Tarkwa
Mfantsipim Lodge No. 7260Cape Coast
Coronation Lodge No. 7309Sekondi–Takoradi
Gold Coast Jubilee Masters Lodge No. 7457Accra
Keta Lodge No. 7467Keta
Osu Lodge No. 7627Accra
Exelsior Lodge No. 7670Kumasi
Tema Lodge No. 7718Tema
Adisadel Lodge No. 7791Cape Coast
University of Technology Lodge No. 7792Kumasi
Tamale Lodge No. 7823Tamale
Brong Ahafo Lodge No. 7862Sunyani
Mfantsiman Lodge No. 7863Cape Coast
Concordia Lodge No. 7199Accra
Winneba Lodge No. 7708Winneba
Sir Charles Tachie–Menson Lodge No. 8058Accra
Legon Lodge No. 8266Achimota

Grand Masters

District Grand Lodge of Ghana

District Grand MasterTenure of office
D. J. Oman1931–1934
Major G. T. Kingsford1935–1945
Major Charles Owen Butler1947–1950
Sir Charles W. Tachie-Menson, KBE1950–1962
Dr. Stanley Walker Coope1963–1968
Dr. Ebenezer A. Sackey, OBE1969–1988
Dr. J. V. L. Philips1988–1998
E. A. B. Mayne1998–2002
B. K. Otoo2002–2004
Kow Abaka Quansah2004–2015
Isaac Owulaku Hood2016–

Grand Lodge of Ghana

Grand MasterTenure of office
Charles William Stanley-Pierre2009–2013
Otwasuom Osae Nyampong VI, Kamenahene of the Akwamu2013–2017
Naval Captain Kwadjo Adunkwa Butah2017–

Sister organisations in Anglophone West Africa

Liberia

started in 1867 when the craft was brought to the country by Americo–Liberian settlers, descendants of freed slaves in the United States. The Grand Lodge of Liberia is based in Monrovia, its traditions are steeped in the Prince Hall Freemasonry, the United States Masonic Lodge, predominantly populated by African–American men. The Grand Lodge of Liberia is the first independent, self–initiated Masonic lodge in Africa. With 1750 members, 14 out of 19 subordinate lodges were re–activated in 1988 after the Liberian Civil War. The fourth edition of the 1992 Prince Hall Masonic Directory lists 500 members from the 19 lodges before the conflict. The fifth edition of the directory listed 13 lodges and there was no entry for the sixth edition. In 1999, the United Grand Lodge of England recognised the Grand Lodge of Liberia. In 2000, the Government of Liberia Gazette noted the death of the Deputy Grand Master of Liberia.

Nigeria

With 51 lodges, the Grand Lodge of Nigeria is based in Calabar near Cross River and on the coast of southeastern Nigeria. The Masonic society was founded on 3 November 2012 by the Grand Master Mason of Scotland. The pioneer Grand Master of the Nigerian Grand Lodge was consecrated by the Grand Master of Ireland. About 20 lodges of the Irish Provincial Grand Lodge and 31 of the 45 lodges of the Scottish District Grand Lodge came together to form the unified grand lodge. Like its Ghanaian counterpart, the District Grand Lodge of Nigeria, English Constitution, declined to join the new partnership. As such, none of 33 English Constitution lodges became members of the Grand Lodge of Nigeria and are still under the UGLE. The remaining 14 lodges under the Scottish tradition are still members of the District Grand Lodge, Scottish Constitution.

Notable people

Prominent Ghanaian Masons include:

Heads of State