Bole Mosque A Neglected Ancient Mosque Collapses After Heavy Rainfall.
The Bole Mosque has collapsed after a heavy rainfall yesterday in the Northern parts of Ghana. This heartbreaking tragic news was posted on Twitter (Now X) by William Haun. It could have been the torrential rainfall but the termite infestation noted by the writer on his blog would be the primary cause of the collapse.
images by William Haun
The Bole Mosque was a historically significant mosque in the Bole, West Gonja District in Northern Ghana. It was carbon dated by a German architecture firm SLA to have been built in the 20th Century but oral traditions claim it was built in the 18th century. The mosque design is that of the Sudano-Sahelian architecture and was one of the six mud mosques in Ghana which drew tourists into the town of Bole which happens to be the hometown of former President Mahama.
Pictured below are the termite infested rafters in the mosque back in 2018 which is evidence of an extremely poorly maintained roofing.
Photo by William Haun
It’s very sad how as a country we collect monies from tourists who visit such sights only to pocket them for selfish gains instead of putting them into preserving such culturally significant buildings. We however seem to have a knack for destroying places of historical importance easily to make way for ‘modern’ spaces. This begs the question, how much would it have cost to preserve and replace those termite ripped rafters for this ancient mud mosque ? Surely, not as much as a V8 in which a Minister would sit in to campaign in a town as Bole!
This is a such a national disgrace.
Before
After
