Akwasi Afrifa
Encyclopedia
Brigadier
Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa (24 April 1936 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghana
ian soldier
, farmer
, a traditional ruler (king) and politician
.
He was the head of state of Ghana and leader of the military government in 1969 and then Chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970. He continued as a farmer and political activist. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1979 but was executed before he could take his seat. He was executed together with two other former heads of state, General Kutu Acheampong and General Fred Akuffo
and five other Generals (Utuka, Felli, Boakye, Robert Kotei
and Amedume), in June 1979. He was also popularly referred to by his title Okatakyie (ˈoʊkætætʃiː) Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa and was in addition the Abakomahene of Krobo in the Asante-Mampong Sekyere Traditional Area of the Ashanti Region
of Ghana.
in the Sekyere West District
of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. His basic education
was at the Presbyterian Boys Boarding School at Mampong. He then continued with his secondary education
at Adisadel College
at Cape Coast
in the Central Region
, where he was between 1952 and 1957, during which he was expelled. This thwarted his original ambition to be a lawyer. He joined the Ghana Army
in 1957 and was sent to the Regular Officer's Special Training School. From there, he attended the Mons Officer Cadet School
, Aldershot
, England
in 1958. He then completed officer training at the Royal Military Academy
, Sandhurst, England
. In 1961, he was at the School of Infantry, Hythe
, United Kingdom
.
in the Ghana Armed Forces
. From 1962 up to 1964, he was a General Staff Officer in the army. He next attended the Defence College, at Teshie
in Accra
. Afrifa was one of the officers who served in the Ghana contingent of the United Nations Operation in the Congo
. Afrifa rose through the ranks to become a Major. He was also staff officer in charge of army training and operations by 1965. He was based at Kumasi, at the headquarters of the Second Infantry Brigade (now the Northern Command) of the Ghana Army.
, then a Colonel and the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade. At the time, Ghana had become a one party state, political opposition was effectively removed with the Preventive Detention Act of 1958 and in 1964 Nkrumah declared himself President for Life. Simultaneously, the export price of Ghana's main foreign exchange earner, cocoa, plummeted. This, combined with ambitious domestic expenditure on much needed social infrastructure and on well documented white elephants, led to the bankruptcy of Ghana. There was a lot of discontent among the general population as prices rocketed for basic consumer goods which were widely unavailable, and among the Ghana Armed Forces. Kwame Nkrumah
had asked the military at the time to prepare for a possible campaign in Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe
) against the racist
régime that had been established there. Under the pretext of a training exercise, Kotoka, moved his troops from Kumasi to Accra for the coup. Afrifa was his right-hand man in the coup exercise. It turned out later that, unhappy with Nkrumah's strengthening ties with Russia, China and other communist states, the Central Intelligence Agency
of the United States
had been kept updated about preparations for this coup and may have helped create difficulties for the Nkrumah government
to facilitate this. The coup plotters struck while Nkrumah was on a trip to Hanoi
, Vietnam
. Afrifa's brief was to take the Broadcasting House, the base from which the national radio station broadcast its news and programmes. This succeeded after heavy fighting, allowing Kotoka to go on air to announce the coup d'état
to the whole nation.
and Afrifa. Martin Okai, a member of the PDD, claimed at the National Reconciliation Commission hearings that his torture was supervised by Afrifa.
(NLC). Afrifa also went through a series of rapid promotions rising from Major
to Lieutenant General
in the three years his government was in power. He was also appointed the Commissioner (Minister) for Finance and Trade. The Head of state of Ghana and Chairman of the NLC, Joseph Arthur Ankrah
was forced to resign in April 1969 following a bribery scandal involving Francis Nzeribe, a Nigeria
n businessman. He was replaced by Afrifa as Head of state. Ankrah was accused of effecting payments to influence the results of a poll which showed him ahead of Afrifa and Kofi Abrefa Busia
for the national elections due in August 1969. Afrifa was a supporter of Busia, the leader of the Progress Party
who was a candidate in the forthcoming National Assembly elections
. Afrifa handed over to Busia who became the Prime Minister of Ghana
on inauguration of the Second Republic. He continued as Chairman of the newly created Presidential Commission until August 1970 when he was replaced by Nii Amaa Ollennu
, the Speaker of Parliament
in the Second Republic.
by Acheampong and the National Redemption Council
, Afrifa, a known supporter of Busia was arrested two days later on 15 January 1972 and detained until December 1972. Following his release, Afrifa restricted himself largely to farming at his home town of Mampong. In 1978, the Supreme Military Council
(SMC) government sought to introduce a new and widely criticized political system called Union Government (UNIGOV) which was to be a military and civilian partnership rather than go back to a multi-party democracy. A referendum was scheduled in March 1978, and Afrifa was one of the leaders of the Popular Movement for Freedom and Justice, which led the opposition to this UNIGOV concept. Joined by students and the intelligentsia among others, the PMFJ demanded a return to constitutional multi-party democracy.
, organized presidential
and parliamentary elections
on 18 June 1979 for a multi-party national assembly. The elections were however held under the government of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC) as the SMC itself had been overthrown on 4 June 1979. Afrifa stood for and won the Mampong
North constituency seat on the ticket of the United National Convention
, whose roots were from the Progress Party
of Kofi Abrefa Busia
. On 26 June 1979, eight days after his election, Afrifa was executed and thus never had the opportunity to take his seat in the Parliament of the Third Republic of Ghana and was succeeded in parliament by Ebenezer Augustus Kwasi Akuoko.
(Asante king) Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, honoured Afrifa with the title "Okatakyie" (meaning "hero" in Asante
) after the NLC had returned power to the civilian Busia government
. Afrifa was also the Abakomahene of Krobo in the Asante-Mampong Sekyere Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region. Afrifa is also credited with initiating the Krobo Rehabilitation Project, raising funds leading to the rebuilding of the entire village.
, Afrifa was again arrested on his farm at Mampong. Together with other arrested senior military officers, they were tried to varied extents in camera. They were apparently found guilty of corruption, embezzlement, and using their positions to amass wealth. The investigations carried out were apparently incomplete. Evidence gathered by the National Reconciliation Commission in 2004 also suggests that the others executed were not properly tried. Previously, Afrifa had personally had his assets probed by the independent Sowah Assets Commission without any adverse findings. There also appears to have been a delay to the executions as no one including Rawlings appears to have been ready to sign the death warrants. Lieutenant General Joshua Hamidu
, a former Chief of the Defence Staff
at the time of the AFRC regime, stated that he and Rawlings were the only soldiers at the center of government who opposed the executions of the former heads of state. He is quoted as saying in response to an accusation of calling for Afrifa's execution that:
, together with General Fred Akuffo
, also a former Head of state and Major General Robert Kotei
, Colonel Roger Felli
, Air Vice Marshall George Yaw Boakye and Rear Admiral Joy Amedume. Reports suggest that Afrifa did not die immediately and had to be shot again. The bodies of the executed officers were buried without ceremony at the Nsawam Prisons Cemetery at Adoagyiri, near Nsawam
in the Eastern Region
.
decided that their bodies be handed back to their respective families as part of a national reconciliation drive. On 27 December 2001, the bodies were returned to their respective families in Accra. Afrifa's remains were finally laid to rest at his hometown of Krobo on 28 January 2002.
and an Introduction by Tibor Szamuely
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa (24 April 1936 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, a traditional ruler (king) and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
He was the head of state of Ghana and leader of the military government in 1969 and then Chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970. He continued as a farmer and political activist. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1979 but was executed before he could take his seat. He was executed together with two other former heads of state, General Kutu Acheampong and General Fred Akuffo
Fred Akuffo
Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo was a soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Head of state and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council in Ghana from 1978 to 1979...
and five other Generals (Utuka, Felli, Boakye, Robert Kotei
Robert Kotei
Major General Robert Ebenezer Abossey Kotei was a soldier, politician and track and field athlete. He was once the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and also a member of the Supreme Military Council which ruled Ghana between 1975 and 1979. He was executed in 1979, following a...
and Amedume), in June 1979. He was also popularly referred to by his title Okatakyie (ˈoʊkætætʃiː) Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa and was in addition the Abakomahene of Krobo in the Asante-Mampong Sekyere Traditional Area of the Ashanti Region
Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Region is the third largest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana, occupying a total land surface of 24389 square kilometers or 10.2 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the most populated region with a population of 3,612,950 in 2000,...
of Ghana.
Education and training
Akwasi Afrifa was born at MampongMampong
Mampong is a town in Ghana. It is found in the Ashanti Region in Ghana, and serves as the administrative capital of Sekyere West District.It is also the home of the Mampong Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine. The center conducts research in the use of plant medicine in the cure of...
in the Sekyere West District
Sekyere West District
The Mampong Municipal District, formerly the Sekyere West District is a district of Ghana in the Ashanti Region.-Sources:*...
of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. His basic education
Basic education
Basic education refers to the whole range of educational activities taking place in various settings , that aim to meet basic learning needs. According to the International Standard Classification of Education , basic education comprises primary education and lower secondary education...
was at the Presbyterian Boys Boarding School at Mampong. He then continued with his secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
at Adisadel College
Adisadel College
Adisadel College is an Anglican school for boys in Cape Coast, Ghana, modelled on the English public school.-History:Adisadel was established in 1910 in a building at Topp Yard, near Christ Church and Cape Coast Castle...
at Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante people, or Mfantsefo. It is situated 165 km west of Accra on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 82,291 . From the 16th century the city has changed hands between the...
in the Central Region
Central Region (Ghana)
The Central Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is bordered by the Ashanti and Eastern regions to the north, Western region to the west, Greater Accra region to the east, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.-Districts:...
, where he was between 1952 and 1957, during which he was expelled. This thwarted his original ambition to be a lawyer. He joined the Ghana Army
Ghana Army
The Ghana Army is the army of the West African nation of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army...
in 1957 and was sent to the Regular Officer's Special Training School. From there, he attended the Mons Officer Cadet School
Mons Officer Cadet School
The Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment in Aldershot.1942 saw the RMC move to Mons Barracks where it became 161 OCTU. Cadets underwent a three month training programme prior to the Commisioning Passing Out Parade. Those passing out slow marched up the steps from...
, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1958. He then completed officer training at the Royal Military Academy
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, Sandhurst, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1961, he was at the School of Infantry, Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Career
In 1960, Afrifa was commissioned as second lieutenantSecond Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Ghana Armed Forces
Military of Ghana
The Ghana Armed Forces consists of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. It is supervised by the Ministry of Defence . With around 7,000 personnel serving in the Ghanian military, Ghana has the lowest ratio of active troops per thousand citizens in the world, standing at 0.33. However, the Ghanaian...
. From 1962 up to 1964, he was a General Staff Officer in the army. He next attended the Defence College, at Teshie
Teshie
Teshie is a city in Ghana in the Greater Accra Region. Fort Augustaborg, built by the Danes in 1787, is located in Teshie and was occupied by the British from 1850 to 1957. The national Officer Cadet Training School and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre are also located here...
in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
. Afrifa was one of the officers who served in the Ghana contingent of the United Nations Operation in the Congo
United Nations Operation in the Congo
Opération des Nations unies au Congo, abbreviated ONUC, was a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo that was established after United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 of July 14, 1960...
. Afrifa rose through the ranks to become a Major. He was also staff officer in charge of army training and operations by 1965. He was based at Kumasi, at the headquarters of the Second Infantry Brigade (now the Northern Command) of the Ghana Army.
1966 coup
While at Kumasi, Afrifa became friends with Emmanuel Kwasi KotokaEmmanuel Kwasi Kotoka
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council which came to power in Ghana in a military coup d'état on February 24, 1966. This overthrew the government of Dr...
, then a Colonel and the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade. At the time, Ghana had become a one party state, political opposition was effectively removed with the Preventive Detention Act of 1958 and in 1964 Nkrumah declared himself President for Life. Simultaneously, the export price of Ghana's main foreign exchange earner, cocoa, plummeted. This, combined with ambitious domestic expenditure on much needed social infrastructure and on well documented white elephants, led to the bankruptcy of Ghana. There was a lot of discontent among the general population as prices rocketed for basic consumer goods which were widely unavailable, and among the Ghana Armed Forces. Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
had asked the military at the time to prepare for a possible campaign in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
) against the racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
régime that had been established there. Under the pretext of a training exercise, Kotoka, moved his troops from Kumasi to Accra for the coup. Afrifa was his right-hand man in the coup exercise. It turned out later that, unhappy with Nkrumah's strengthening ties with Russia, China and other communist states, the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had been kept updated about preparations for this coup and may have helped create difficulties for the Nkrumah government
Nkrumah government
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and first President of Ghana.-Nkrumah's first independence government :Nkrumah had run governments under the supervision of the British government through Charles Arden-Clarke, the Governor-General. His first government under colonial rule started...
to facilitate this. The coup plotters struck while Nkrumah was on a trip to Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Afrifa's brief was to take the Broadcasting House, the base from which the national radio station broadcast its news and programmes. This succeeded after heavy fighting, allowing Kotoka to go on air to announce the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
to the whole nation.
Allegations of atrocities
There have been allegations by members of Nkrumah's Presidential Detail Department (PDD) responsible for the personal protection of Nkrumah that they were physically tortured, some apparently in the presence of Kotoka, J. W. K. HarlleyJohn Willie Kofi Harlley
John Willie Kofi Harlley was a former foreign minister of Ghana. He was a member of the Presidential Commission that ruled Ghana during the military era of the National Liberation Council and the first year of the Second Republic...
and Afrifa. Martin Okai, a member of the PDD, claimed at the National Reconciliation Commission hearings that his torture was supervised by Afrifa.
Time in government
Following the coup, Kotoka became one of the eight members of the National Liberation CouncilNational Liberation Council
The National Liberation Council was the name of the Ghanaian government after the elected government of the Convention Peoples' Party led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966. This government was in place till they handed over to a democratically elected government on October...
(NLC). Afrifa also went through a series of rapid promotions rising from Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
in the three years his government was in power. He was also appointed the Commissioner (Minister) for Finance and Trade. The Head of state of Ghana and Chairman of the NLC, Joseph Arthur Ankrah
Joseph Arthur Ankrah
Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah served as the first commander of the Army of Ghana and from 1966 and 1969 as the second head of state.-Early life:...
was forced to resign in April 1969 following a bribery scandal involving Francis Nzeribe, a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n businessman. He was replaced by Afrifa as Head of state. Ankrah was accused of effecting payments to influence the results of a poll which showed him ahead of Afrifa and Kofi Abrefa Busia
Kofi Abrefa Busia
Kofi Abrefa Busia was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969–72. He was born in Wenchi, in the then British colony of Gold Coast . He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, then at Wesley College, Kumasi from 1931–32. He later became a teacher at Achimota Secondary...
for the national elections due in August 1969. Afrifa was a supporter of Busia, the leader of the Progress Party
Progress Party (Ghana)
The Progress Party was the ruling party in Ghana during the Second Republic . In the 29 August 1969 elections, the PP won 105 of the National Assembly's 140 seats....
who was a candidate in the forthcoming National Assembly elections
Ghanaian parliamentary election, 1969
The Ghanaian parliamentary election was held on 29 August 1969. This was the first parliamentary election since the 1966 coup by the National Liberation Council which toppled the Nkrumah government. The election was to select members for the 140 seat legislative body. Kofi Abrefa Busia, the leader...
. Afrifa handed over to Busia who became the Prime Minister of Ghana
Prime Minister of Ghana
The Prime Minister of Ghana was the head of government of Ghana from 1957 to 1960 and again from 1969 to 1972.-History of the office:The country's first leader and Prime Minister was Kwame Nkrumah of the Convention People's Party...
on inauguration of the Second Republic. He continued as Chairman of the newly created Presidential Commission until August 1970 when he was replaced by Nii Amaa Ollennu
Nii Amaa Ollennu
Raphael Nii Amaa Ollennu was the Chairman of the Presidential Commission and acting President of Ghana during the Second Republic from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970.-Early life:...
, the Speaker of Parliament
Parliament of Ghana
The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Ghanaian government.-History:Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony. The body, called the Legislative Council, was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive...
in the Second Republic.
Campaign for democracy
After the overthrow of the democratically elected Busia governmentBusia government
This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana. The Second Republic lasted from 1 October 1969 to 13 January 1972.-List of ministers:-References:...
by Acheampong and the National Redemption Council
National Redemption Council
The National Redemption Council was the ruling Ghana military government in from January 13, 1972 to October 9, 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I.K. Acheampong. He was also the Head of state of Ghana due to his chairmanship.-Duration of rule:...
, Afrifa, a known supporter of Busia was arrested two days later on 15 January 1972 and detained until December 1972. Following his release, Afrifa restricted himself largely to farming at his home town of Mampong. In 1978, the Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council, Ghana
The Supreme Military Council was the ruling government of Ghana from October 9, 1975 to June 4, 1979. Its chairman was Colonel I.K. Acheampong. He was also the Head of state of Ghana due to his chairmanship.- SMC I and II :...
(SMC) government sought to introduce a new and widely criticized political system called Union Government (UNIGOV) which was to be a military and civilian partnership rather than go back to a multi-party democracy. A referendum was scheduled in March 1978, and Afrifa was one of the leaders of the Popular Movement for Freedom and Justice, which led the opposition to this UNIGOV concept. Joined by students and the intelligentsia among others, the PMFJ demanded a return to constitutional multi-party democracy.
Elected Member of Parliament
Following the fall of Achampong, the new SMC under General Fred AkuffoFred Akuffo
Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo was a soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Head of state and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council in Ghana from 1978 to 1979...
, organized presidential
Ghanaian presidential election, 1979
Presidential elections were held in Ghana on 18 June 1979 , with a second round on 9 July 1979. The result was a victory for Hilla Limann of the People's National Party, who won 62.0% of the votes in the second round....
and parliamentary elections
Ghanaian parliamentary election, 1979
The Ghanaian parliamentary election was held on 18 June 1979. This were the first parliamentary elections since the 1969 election, 10 years earlier.-Results:Approximately 5,000,000 people were registered for the elections.-See also:...
on 18 June 1979 for a multi-party national assembly. The elections were however held under the government of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, Ghana
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council was the government of Ghana from June 4, 1979 to September 24, 1979. It came to power in a bloody coup that removed the Supreme Military Council, another military regime, from power. The June 4 coup was preceded by an abortive attempt on May 15, 1979 when...
(AFRC) as the SMC itself had been overthrown on 4 June 1979. Afrifa stood for and won the Mampong
Mampong
Mampong is a town in Ghana. It is found in the Ashanti Region in Ghana, and serves as the administrative capital of Sekyere West District.It is also the home of the Mampong Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine. The center conducts research in the use of plant medicine in the cure of...
North constituency seat on the ticket of the United National Convention
United National Convention
The United National Convention was a political party in Ghana during the Third Republic .In the elections held on 18 June 1979 UNC presidential candidate William Ofori Atta won 17.4% of the vote and the party won 13 of 140 seats in the National Assembly....
, whose roots were from the Progress Party
Progress Party (Ghana)
The Progress Party was the ruling party in Ghana during the Second Republic . In the 29 August 1969 elections, the PP won 105 of the National Assembly's 140 seats....
of Kofi Abrefa Busia
Kofi Abrefa Busia
Kofi Abrefa Busia was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969–72. He was born in Wenchi, in the then British colony of Gold Coast . He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, then at Wesley College, Kumasi from 1931–32. He later became a teacher at Achimota Secondary...
. On 26 June 1979, eight days after his election, Afrifa was executed and thus never had the opportunity to take his seat in the Parliament of the Third Republic of Ghana and was succeeded in parliament by Ebenezer Augustus Kwasi Akuoko.
Other roles
The late AsanteheneRulers of the Akan state of Asante
The Akan state of Asanteman comprised part of present-day southern Ghana and portions of present-day eastern Côte d'Ivoire....
(Asante king) Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, honoured Afrifa with the title "Okatakyie" (meaning "hero" in Asante
Akan language
Akan, also known as Twi and Fante, is an Akan language that is the principal native language of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of that country, by about 52% of the population, and to a lesser extent across the border in eastern Côte d'Ivoire...
) after the NLC had returned power to the civilian Busia government
Busia government
This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana. The Second Republic lasted from 1 October 1969 to 13 January 1972.-List of ministers:-References:...
. Afrifa was also the Abakomahene of Krobo in the Asante-Mampong Sekyere Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region. Afrifa is also credited with initiating the Krobo Rehabilitation Project, raising funds leading to the rebuilding of the entire village.
Family
Afrifa was the son of Opanin Kwaku Amankwa and Ama Serwaa Amaniampong, both from Krobo, near Mampong, in the Ashanti Region. At the time of his execution, he was married to Christine Afrifa, with whom he had seven children.Premonitions
Afrifa had written a letter to Acheampong expressing fears about the future execution of soldiers as a deterrent against the staging of military coups in Ghana, due to the prevailing corruption and indiscipline in the military. This was around the period of the UNIGOV campaign and before Acheampong was removed in a palace coup on 5 July 1978."I feel greatly disturbed about the future after the government...
In order to discourage the military from staging coups in the future, how about if they line all
of us up and shot us one by one? I do not certainly want to be arrested, given some sort of
trial and shot. But I would be a stupid General if I sit in the comfort of my farm and await
the VENGEANCE that is about to be unleashed on us.... I will pray to take away the fear
and confusion weighing on my mind now."
Execution
After the overthrow of the SMC by the AFRC led by Jerry RawlingsJerry Rawlings
Jerry John Rawlings is a former leader of the Republic of Ghana and now the African Union envoy to Somalia. Rawlings ruled Ghana as a military dictator in 1979 and from 1981 to 1992 and then as the first elected president of the Fourth Republic from 1993 to 2001...
, Afrifa was again arrested on his farm at Mampong. Together with other arrested senior military officers, they were tried to varied extents in camera. They were apparently found guilty of corruption, embezzlement, and using their positions to amass wealth. The investigations carried out were apparently incomplete. Evidence gathered by the National Reconciliation Commission in 2004 also suggests that the others executed were not properly tried. Previously, Afrifa had personally had his assets probed by the independent Sowah Assets Commission without any adverse findings. There also appears to have been a delay to the executions as no one including Rawlings appears to have been ready to sign the death warrants. Lieutenant General Joshua Hamidu
Joshua Hamidu
Lieutenant General Joshua Mahamadu Hamidu is a former Chief of Defence Staff and member of the Supreme Military Council government. He was appointed National Security Advisor to the Kufuor government in 2001. He has also been the chairman of the Narcotics Control Board of Ghana. He is also on...
, a former Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The Ghana Army was formed after World War II out of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African...
at the time of the AFRC regime, stated that he and Rawlings were the only soldiers at the center of government who opposed the executions of the former heads of state. He is quoted as saying in response to an accusation of calling for Afrifa's execution that:
"That is ridiculous. It is a lie. I had nothing to do with the executions. For three weeks after the 4 June event, questions were constantly raised about executing people. I always stood against it. Surprisingly, the only person who also stood against it was Rawlings. The young boys wanted blood and I used to tell 'you cannot resurrect the man once you've killed him. If you have any case against people, try them. Let everybody hear what they have done wrong against the country.' And that even, they could not do."On 26 June 1979, Afrifa was executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
, together with General Fred Akuffo
Fred Akuffo
Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo was a soldier and politician. He is a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Head of state and chairman of the ruling Supreme Military Council in Ghana from 1978 to 1979...
, also a former Head of state and Major General Robert Kotei
Robert Kotei
Major General Robert Ebenezer Abossey Kotei was a soldier, politician and track and field athlete. He was once the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and also a member of the Supreme Military Council which ruled Ghana between 1975 and 1979. He was executed in 1979, following a...
, Colonel Roger Felli
Roger Joseph Felli
Colonel Roger Joseph Atogetipoli Felli was a soldier and politician who was once the foreign minister of Ghana.Roger Felli was born at Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of Ghana....
, Air Vice Marshall George Yaw Boakye and Rear Admiral Joy Amedume. Reports suggest that Afrifa did not die immediately and had to be shot again. The bodies of the executed officers were buried without ceremony at the Nsawam Prisons Cemetery at Adoagyiri, near Nsawam
Nsawam
Nsawam is a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana approximately 40 km northwest from the capital, Accra. It is controlled by the Akwapim Society....
in the Eastern Region
Eastern Region (Ghana)
The Eastern Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It covers an area of 19,323 square kilometres, which is about 8.1% of Ghana's total land area. The region is divided into administrative districts. The total number of districts were increased from 17 districts to 21...
.
Reburial
Following a petition by the widows of the executed generals, President John KufuorJohn Kufuor
John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor was the second president of the 4th Republic of Ghana and Chairperson of the African Union...
decided that their bodies be handed back to their respective families as part of a national reconciliation drive. On 27 December 2001, the bodies were returned to their respective families in Accra. Afrifa's remains were finally laid to rest at his hometown of Krobo on 28 January 2002.
Publications
|quote=}} with Preface By K.A. BusiaKofi Abrefa Busia
Kofi Abrefa Busia was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969–72. He was born in Wenchi, in the then British colony of Gold Coast . He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, then at Wesley College, Kumasi from 1931–32. He later became a teacher at Achimota Secondary...
and an Introduction by Tibor Szamuely
Tibor Szamuely (historian)
Tibor Szamuely was a Hungarian-born historian and polemicist. He left Hungary in 1963 and taught at the Kwame Nkrumah Institute of Economic and Political Sciences in Winneba, Ghana...
See also
- Akan names
- National Liberation CouncilNational Liberation CouncilThe National Liberation Council was the name of the Ghanaian government after the elected government of the Convention Peoples' Party led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966. This government was in place till they handed over to a democratically elected government on October...
- List of Ghana Heads of state by age
Further reading
- Killick, T. (1978), Development Economics in Action: Economic Policies in Ghana, London: Heinemann, 392 pages