L–R: Kotoka, the mastermind of Nkrumah’s coup, wanted him to be made President of Ghana again
Ghana’s main point of entry and exit to the world, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), is named after a very controversial figure, Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka.
Kotoka was one of the leading members of the National Liberation Council, the coalition of soldiers and policemen who ousted Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and he was regarded by many as the brain behind the 1966 coup.
The mastermind of Nkrumah’s overthrow, just a year after the deed, started harbouring some regrets, which cost him his life.
According to historian and lawyer Anokye Frimpong, Kotoka, a year after the coup, realised that the junta had achieved nothing and advocated that changes be made.
He indicated that in less than two months after Kotoka’s appeal, there was a supposed attempt to remove the NLC government, and he was the only person who was killed in the failed coup.
“From 1966 to 1972, when he (Nkrumah) died, we were not able to build even one of the factories he built. The airport he built, the universities, hospitals and roads, we were not able to add anything to them.
“So, this was the reason why a year after the coup, Kotoka told his colleagues that, ‘We thought Nkrumah was corrupt and we took money from the CIA to remove him. But for a whole year we have been able to achieve nothing. If you should have given Nkrumah one year he would have done a lot. So, if it is possible, let’s call him back and give the nation back to him,’” he narrated.
He added, “This did not sit well with his people. He said this in February. Two months after his statement, on 17th April, there was an abortive coup and Kotoka was killed. Among all the leaders of the National Liberation Council, it was only Kotoka who was killed.”
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He asserted that the fact that it was only Kotoka, who was then the commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, points clearly to the fact that his advocacy for Nkrumah to be brought back cost him his life.
Watch Anokye Frimpong’s remarks below:
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