A GHANAIAN gas engineer who championed better race relations in Oxford has died, aged 83.

Martin Krah worked with Oxford City Council and churches in the city to promote better cultural awareness.

He also worked as a teacher and was described by friends as a great intellectual who had a 'hatred for dishonesty'.

Martin Kawbena Krah was born in Ghana on September 21, 1936, at a time when the country was still under colonial control by Great Britain.

It gained its independence on March 6, 1957, when he was 19 years old.

After attending St Augustine School in Ghana, Mr Krah came to the UK in about 1960, living briefly in London before going to Durham University.

From there he moved to Oxford, where he stayed for the rest of his life.

In his career he worked variously as a teacher, gas engineer, and worked at Iceland supermarket.

However it was his campaigning outside of his day jobs that won him most acclaim.

After joining an African students society and becoming its secretary, he encouraged members to share their experiences, sometimes inviting academics to speak to them about race and cultural issues in British society.

He was instrumental in setting up an organisation that worked closely with the Oxford City Council, promoting race and cultural awareness in the community.

The organisation would later enjoy a formalised relationship with the council.

Mr Krah also helped distribute educational leaflets as well as lending a helping hand at polling stations during elections, among numerous other activities.

Writing a tribute to Mr Krah, his friends Anthony Akinola and Daniel Fordwour said that he always maintained the hopeful spirit of African independence, while holding the continent's new leaders to the highest standards.

They said: "Martin would always recall the hope and enthusiasm of his generation at independence, especially that of Ghana in 1957, and how a succession of bad leadership had eroded such hope and enthusiasm.

"He would argue with great objectivity that the continent of Africa would have been a lot more developed had the post-independence leaders, especially those of Ghana and Nigeria, shown greater patriotism and commitment in expanding and improving on inherited educational and social structures.

"Rather than do this, what we had sadly witnessed from a succession of leaders were corruption and ostentatious living."

In his personal life, Mr Krah married his wife Mina in Cowley on September 24, 1966.

The couple had four children – Joyce, Stephen, Martin and Michael.

Mr Krah was also described by friends as a 'very good Christian', attending the Christian Life Centre on Cowley Road, but one whose life was never dominated by religion and religiosity.

He passed away, aged 83, on February 20, after suffering from pneumonia.

His family have said they will publicise details of his funeral at a later date.