<P> The Accra Riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra ( capital of present - day Ghana , which at the time was the British colony of the Gold Coast ) , after a protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen was broken up by police , leaving several leaders of the group dead . Among those killed was Sergeant Nii Adjetey , who has since been memorialized in Accra . In January 1948 , the Ga chief Nii Kwabena Bonne II had organized a boycott of all European imports in response to their inflated prices , and the 28 February incident is considered `` the straw that broke the camel 's back '' , marking the beginning of the process of independence for the Gold Coast as Ghana - the first African colony to achieve this . </P>
who led the 1948 boycott of european goods in gold coast
Ga chief Nii Kwabena Bonne II