Today in history: the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah

General News of Sunday, February 24, 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2019-02-24

It is now exactly 53 years since the former President of Ghana, Mr. Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown unconstitutionally by a coup by police and police on February 24, 1966.

The most important indicator of Nkrumah's lasting impact is undoubtedly that he has done better in retrospect than those who overthrew him and succeeded him.

He left an imprint on the history of Ghana that continues, long after his death, to fascinate and inspire many people around the world, especially those of African descent.

Until now, Ghanaians continue to "pay homage" to its "immortal memory", even to the point that its weakness and failures have been largely forgotten.

The blow and its consequences

Col.K. Kotoka, Major A.A. Afrifa and MJWK, then Inspector General of Police. Harley organized the revolution at dawn on February 24, 1966, while Nkrumah was still on a peace mission in Asia.

They announced on public radio that "Kwame Nkrumah is overthrown and the myth surrounding it is broken."

Apparently, Dr. Nkrumah was considered an ally of the Soviet Union of the time and Eastern Europe during the 'cold war'. But the pan-African leader has denied the accusations.

Several other charges related to the introduction of the law on preventive detection, corruption, dictatorial practices, oppression and finally the retirement of the highest-ranking officers of the army. which, according to sources, was the main reason for the uprising.

It is this action more than any other, according to Commander A. Afrifa, who led to the coup that overthrew Nkrumah on February 24, 1966.

Nkrumah praised the coup that had taken place in Nigeria a few weeks earlier and tried to strengthen the position of the most radical members of the military government that took power. He did not understand how his own disappearance would soon reach the hands of his own soldiers?

The coup d'etat itself was welcomed in Ghana with much more enthusiasm than for independence. Only the presidential guard met a brief resistance and in 24 hours the coup d'etat was over. The Nkrumah statue in front of Parliament, which proclaimed it the founder of the nation, was razed and crushed.

After the night after the coup d'état, demonstrations of support were organized for the new leaders, who called themselves the National Liberation Council (CNL). Even members of the 74-person delegation who accompanied Nkrumah to China at the time of the coup deserted their former leader.

Foreign Minister Quaison-Sackey, whom Nkrumah had sent to protest against the seat of the new Ghanaian government mission at the OAU meeting in Addis Ababa, went to Accra, where he promised his loyalty to the new military government.

The prisons emptied the detainees in Nkrumah and began to fill up with new political prisoners. The PCP, with its 2 million members and 500,000 activists, did not oppose any resistance and the party was allowed to dissolve by one radio announcement.

As for Nkrumah, his friend and sometimes rival, President Sékou Touré, offered him a refuge and made him the honorary co-president of Guinea.

He was to spend five years in his new home writing projects and growing roses while waiting for the Ghanaian people to recall him. Finally, suffering from cancer, he was taken to a clinic in Bucharest, where he died on April 27, 1972.

To a greater extent, Nkrumah's "violent" dismissal unfortunately led Ghana to align with what was becoming the trend in Africa. It is the military intervention in politics.