In July 1884, he was appointed the first head commissioner of the German colony of Togoland.
In 1960, the new state invited the last German governor of Togoland, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg to the country’s official independence celebrations.
All the opposition parties, including the National Liberation Movement, Moslem Association Party, Northern People's Party, Ga Shifimo Kpee, Togoland Congress and the Anlo Youth Organisation merged to form the United Party, under the leadership of Kofi Abrefa Busia.
In 1914, during World War I, the British and French invaded the German colony of Togoland during the Togoland Campaign.