Kimathi Rawlings and Asiedu Nketiah (holding stick) lighting the revolutionary flame at Agormanya
The 46th anniversary of the June 4 Uprising was commemorated at Agormanya in the Eastern Region, with National Democratic Congress (NDC) stalwarts, party supporters, and members of the Rawlings family in attendance.
The National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, led the occasion alongside Rawlings’ children, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, and Kimathi Agyeman-Rawlings.
Together, they lit the revolutionary flame to symbolise the spirit of the June 4 uprising.
The uprising, a military revolt in Ghana in 1979, was sparked by tensions between lower-ranking soldiers and senior officers within the armed forces.
It followed a failed coup attempt on May 15, 1979, led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, who was angered by poor conditions and unpaid salaries in the military.
After being arrested and sentenced to death, Rawlings used his public trial to accuse the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC II), led by General Fred Akuffo, of corruption.
On June 3, 1979, junior officers broke Rawlings out of jail and presented him on national radio as their leader.
They called on other soldiers to rally behind the movement.
The uprising quickly escalated, resulting in the arrest and execution of several senior officers, including three former heads of state.
Rawlings was named leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and oversaw a brief period of military rule before handing power to civilian president, Hilla Limann, in September 1979.
Watch the video below:
JKB/AE
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