General Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa believed a return to democratic politics would offer him and his fellow participants in Ghana’s 1966 coup d’état protection from future political retribution.
Long before Ghana’s return to constitutional rule, Afrifa had made his intentions known in a widely cited letter to then Head of State Lieutenant General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
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In the letter, he explained why he had decided to contest parliamentary elections despite his earlier pledge to stay out of politics.
Afrifa said he feared members of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) would seek revenge against those who overthrew Kwame Nkrumah in the February 24, 1966 coup once the country returned to civilian rule.
“I feel greatly disturbed about the future after your government. I have heard from certain quarters of the CPP threats, which they will execute after 1979… I decided that politics would be the last thing that I would do in my life. But I would be a stupid General if I would sit in the comfort of my farms to await the vengeance that is about to be unleashed on us.
“I do not see how I can be secure in the Union Government. I do not also see how you yourself can be secure in that government. What Koranteng-Addo has said is this: If a soldier wants to join this government, then let him take a leave of absence from the Armed Forces. You are a soldier and you will see what happens as soon as you take this leave. Have you forgotten that they made me sign the 1966 Constitution that disqualified me on the grounds of age?
“I have decided to be in the next Parliament in 1979 to protect myself and those who were associated with the 1966 coup. The danger is that independent individuals in Parliament under Union Government will almost immediately constitute themselves into a political group; so, the political party’s law will be enacted for the trial of soldiers who have made coups,” he said.
The letter showed that Afrifa believed serving in Parliament could provide some political protection for himself and other military officers who participated in the 1966 coup.
In 1979, Afrifa took a major step towards achieving that goal by winning the Mampong North parliamentary seat on the ticket of the United National Convention (UNC), earning a seat in Ghana’s Third Republic.
The election victory marked the achievement of a plan Afrifa had outlined years earlier. He believed serving in Parliament would provide a measure of political protection for himself and others involved in the 1966 overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah.
Afrifa’s time as an elected politician came to an abrupt end. On June 26, 1979, only eight days after his election victory, he was executed by firing squad by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) under the leadership of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings.
He was among eight senior military officers executed over allegations of corruption and abuse of office during successive military regimes.
The others executed on same day were Lieutenant General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Lieutenant General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo, Major General Robert Ebenezer Abosey Kotei, Rear Admiral Joy Kobla Amedume, Air Vice Marshal George Yaw Boakye, and Colonel Roger Joseph Atogetipoli Felli.
Afrifa’s execution meant that although he had been duly elected as Member of Parliament for Mampong North, he never had the opportunity to be sworn into office or take his seat in the Parliament of the Third Republic.
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His parliamentary ambition, which he had explicitly described as a means of protecting himself and his 1966 coup comrades, ended before it could be realised.
Following his death, Afrifa was succeeded in Parliament by Ebenezer Augustus Kwasi Akuoko, bringing to a close a political journey that had come within days of achieving its ultimate objective.
Read his full letter below:
Okatakyie Farms P.O. Box 89,
Mampong-Ashanti
18th Dec,1977
My Dear General and Friend, When I write to you since you came into office, I do not receive any acknowledgment. I would normally not write again, but this is a matter that touches on my life and the lives of a few others.
I feel greatly disturbed about the future after your government. I have heard from certain quarters of the C.P.P. threats, which they will execute after 1979. In other to discourage the military from staging coups in the future, how about if they line us all of us up and shoot us one by one? Then they would disband the Ghana Army; but I do not certainly want to be arrested, given some sort of trial and shot. These are my genuine fears. All members of the N.L.C. including General Joseph Ankrah, are involved. I still have no regrets whatsoever about my part in the operations of 1966.
My fears increase when I look at the Koranteng-Addo Report as a whole. I do not like the Union Government as proposed in their report. The political forces militating against it are too strong.
I wish very sincerely to let you know that I am worried about the future. So many hard and unpleasant things were said about me by the people of this country when they had the opportunity, the very people who hailed me in 1966. Consequently, I decided that politics would be the last thing that I would do in my life. But I would be a stupid General if I would sit in the comfort of my farms to await the VENGEANCE that is about to be unleashed on us.
I do not see how I can be SECURE in the Union Government. I do not also see how you yourself can be secure in that government. What Koranteng-Addo has said is this: If a soldier wants to join this government, then let him take a leave of absence from the Armed Forces. You are a soldier and you will see what happens as soon as you take this leave. Have you forgotten that they made me sign the 1966 Constitution that disqualified me on the grounds of AGE?
I have decided to be in the next Parliament in 1979 to protect myself and those who were associated with the 1966 coup. The danger is that independent individuals in Parliament under Union Government will almost immediately constitute themselves into a political group; so the political parties law will be enacted for the trial of soldiers who have made coups.
My dear brother and friend these are my fears. So far, you have protected all of us, including John Harley. I have been very happy on my farms and I have been very quiet. I had hoped that when you decide to return the country to civilian rule, you would seek my views in confidence since I have done it before and been in prison after that.
But the Almighty God is the supreme ruler of all. Let us pray for Him without ceasing. He alone gives perfect protection. I will pray to Him to take away the fear and the confusion weighing on my mind now. I wish you a happy Christmas. Yours Sincerely, _____________________ Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa (SGD)
MAG/VPO
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