Akwasi Afrifa
Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa | |
---|---|
Chairman of the National Liberation Council | |
In office 2 April 1969 – 3 September 1969 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Arthur Ankrah |
Succeeded by | Himself (as Chairman of the Presidential Commission) |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 26 June 1979 Accra, Ghana | (aged 43)
Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
Spouse | Christine Afrifa |
Profession | Soldier |
Military service | |
Branch/service | Ghana Army |
Years of service | 1957–1970 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Education and training
After his secondary education at Adisadel College, 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.[1] He then completed officer training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England. In 1961, he was at the School of Infantry, Hythe, United Kingdom.
Afrifa also attended the Defence College, at Teshie in Accra.[2]
Career
In 1960, Afrifa was commissioned as
Politics
24 February 1966 coup
[7] While at Kumasi, Afrifa became friends with Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, then a colonel and the commander of the Second Infantry Brigade.[8] 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 Kwame 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[citation needed], 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.[4] Nkrumah had asked the military at the time to prepare for a possible campaign in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) due to that country's recent unilateral declaration of independence under a white minority regime. 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.[9] It turned out later that, unhappy with Nkrumah's strengthening ties with the Soviet Union, China and other communist states,[10] 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.[11][12] The coup plotters struck while Nkrumah was on a trip to Hanoi, then the capital of North Vietnam.[9] 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.[1]
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. Harlley and Afrifa. Martin Okai, a member of the PDD, claimed at the National Reconciliation Commission hearings that his torture was supervised by Afrifa.[13]
Time in government
Following the coup, Kotoka became one of the eight members of the
Campaign for democracy
After the overthrow of the democratically elected
Elected member of Parliament
Following the fall of Acheampong, the new SMC under General
Other roles
The late
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 nine children. His first Ama Serwa Afrifa, seven with Christine Afrifa; Baffour Afrifa, Baffour Anokye Afrifa, Maame Drowaa Afrifa, Serwaa Adimam Afrifa, Ayowa Afrifa, Sophia Amaniampong Afrifa and Akosua Afrifa. His last son Henry Afrifa was born after his death.
Execution
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.[19]
Execution
After the overthrow of the SMC by the AFRC led by Jerry Rawlings, Afrifa was again arrested on his farm at Mampong.[1] 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.[20] The investigations carried out were apparently incomplete.[21] Evidence gathered by the National Reconciliation Commission in 2004 also suggests that the others executed were not properly tried.[22] Previously, Afrifa had personally had his assets probed by the independent Sowah Assets Commission without any adverse findings.[citation needed][23] 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.[24] 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 centre 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.[25]
On 26 June 1979, Afrifa was executed by
Reburial
Following a petition by the widows of the executed generals, President John Kufuor decided that their bodies be returned to their respective families as part of a national reconciliation.[27] On 27 December 2001, the bodies were returned to their respective families in Accra.[28] Afrifa's remains were finally laid to rest at his hometown of Krobo on 28 January 2002.[29]
Publications
- Afrifa, Akwasi Amankwaa (1966). The Ghana Coup, 24 February 1966. London: Frank Cass.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Lt. Gen Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa Profile". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Brief Profile: Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa". Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ a b c "Reformer removed". Time. 1969-04-11. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ a b "The Military and the Government". Library of Congress Country Studies. Library of Congress. November 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ Jon Kraus (April 1966). "Ghana Without Nkrumah - The Men In Charge". Africa Report. Koranteng Ofosu-Amaah. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ a b c d "Leaders of Ghana". Official Ghana@50 website. Ghana government. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "allAfrica.com: myAfrica". myafrica.allafrica.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Lt-Gen Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka Profile". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ a b "The Security Services" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 4, Chapter 1. Ghana Government. October 2004. pp. 24, 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Brigadier Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa - @ MyTribute.Life". www.mytribute.life. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "253. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)/1/". Foreign Relations of the United States 1964-1968, Volume XXIV, Africa. Department of State, US. 1999. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
The plotters are keeping us briefed," .... "and the State Department thinks we're more on the inside than the British. While we're not directly involved (I'm told), we and other Western countries (including France) have been helping to set up the situation by ignoring Nkrumah's pleas for economic aid. All in all, it looks good.
- ^ Paul Lee (2002-06-07). "Documents Expose U.S. Role in Nkrumah Overthrow". SeeingBlack.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Review of Petitions" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 2, Chapter 5. Ghana Government. October 2004. pp. 127–129. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Review of Petitions" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 2, Chapter 5. Ghana Government. October 2004. p. 144. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Lt. General Joseph A. Ankrah Profile". GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Our Leaders-Lt. General Joseph A. Ankrah". Official Website for the 50th Independence Anniversary Celebrations of Ghana. Ghana government. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "History of Ghana - Post Independence Ghana". Ghana government. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "General Afrifa to be re-buried". Ghana Review International Newsreel. Micromedia Consultants Ltd. 2002-01-17. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Review of petitions" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 2, Part 1, Chapter 6. Ghana government. October 2004. p. 180. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Open Letter To Lance Corporal Fred Ansah Atiemo". GhanaWeb. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ a b "Rawlings To Defend Executions At NRC". GhanaWeb. 11 April 2003. Archived from the original on 6 November 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
- ^ "The Social Context" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 2, Part 1, Chapter 4. Ghana Government. October 2004. p. 91. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "In Loving Memory of Okatakyie Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa on the 32nd anniversary of his death". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Review of Petitions" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 2, Part 1, Chapter 6. Ghana Government. October 2004. p. 179. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "'JJ opposed Afrifa's execution' - Hamidu". GhanaWeb. 31 December 2001. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Review of Petitions" (PDF). National Reconciliation Commission Report, Volume 2, Part 1, Chapter 6. Ghana Government. October 2004. pp. 176–180. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ Kwaku Sakyi-Addo (2001-04-30). "Resolving Ghana's violent past". African News. BBC. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ "Ghana reburies past in quest for reconciliation". GhanaWeb. 28 December 2001. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ ""I have no regrets for 1966 coup" - Afrifa's son". GhanaWeb. 31 January 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-582-64523-3.
- Jackson, Kofi A. (April 1999). When Gun Rules. Woeli Pub Serv. ISBN 978-9964-978-57-0.
- Killick, T. (1978), Development Economics in Action: Economic Policies in Ghana, London: Heinemann, 392 pages