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On 26th June 1979, the AFRC led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings condemned six (6), innocent Generals, to death on baseless and trumped-up charges.
Charges:
1. Rear Admiral Amedome who was the Navy Commander was charged with collecting a 50,000 cedis loan.
2. General Okatakyie Amankwa Afrifa, a Head of state between 1968-1969 was cowardly dragged from his farm in Mampong and executed.
3. Gen FWK Akuffo, Head of state 1978-79; the soft-spoken and elegant soldier who sought refuge in the house of the Archbishop of Accra who in turn pleaded for mercy, but it fell on deaf ears as Jerry John was hellbent on revenge for his “impending execution.”
4. General Kotei, deputy Head of State and Chief of Defence Staff who had earlier resigned from the regime returned from London on the 3rd of June only for the coup to happen on the 4th and so became a casualty.
5. Air Vice Marshall Yaw Boakye, the Air Force commander; a gentleman par excellence was also killed even though he aided Jerry John to pass his exam to become a Flight Lieutenant. Yes! Rawlings had failed twice in previous examinations but he [Boakye] wasn’t spared even though J.J himself referred to him as godfather. How tragic! He even pleaded “𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒” but men like Commander Apaloo refused.
6. The youngest of the lot, 38-year-old 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and a right-hand man of General Acheampong was in his hometown in Navorongo when the coup happened. He had the chance to cross the border to Burkina Faso but he declined on the basis that he was innocent. He came to Accra and handed himself in only to fall into the hands of the Kangaroo Court of the AFRC.
NB: Ten (10) days earlier (16th June 1979), General Kutu Acheampong, Military Head of State (1972-78), and General Utuka had been executed by the bloodthirsty AFRC bandits.
It’s also worthy to note that on the 4th of June 1979, General Odartey Wellington, the then Army Commander had been gunned down on the streets of Nima. Colonel Emmanuel Enningful who was a lawyer and commander of the Support Services and Chairman of the Military Tribunal had been executed with his wife at their home; in front of their children. Terrible!
This is the unaltered account that is factful and which should be told to the peace-loving people of Ghana!
May the souls of the Generals live on in peace!
God bless our homeland, Ghana.
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