Audio Attachment:Mr Albert Sam, speaking in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Kokrokoo |
"I had never witnessed anything like that in my life…it was one of the darkest periods in my life," recounts Mr Albert Sam, a Public Relations Practitioner and member of the governing board of the Ghana News Agency, on the horrific public execution of some top military officers and heads of state some 39 years ago.
Tuesday, 26th June 1979, is described by most Ghanaians as the darkest day in Ghana’s history after six senior military officers namely; F.W.K. Akuffo, former Head of State, Gen Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa a former military ruler, Gen Robert Kotei, Col Roger Felli, Air Vice-Marshal Yaw Boakye and Rear Admiral Joy Amedume were blindfolded, tied to the stakes and executed without proper judicial process for allegedly engaging in corruption and embezzlement of public funds.
The generals were tried on charges of corruption, abuse of power and treason by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), led by Flight Lt J.J. Rawlings.
"Execution Day...sudden hush fell on spectators"
A disturbing account of the harrowing scene available online reads: "There were six stakes, each with a rope dangling about it. Sandbags were piled behind each stake up to the shoulder level. Some twenty-five or so feet in front of the stakes were open ended tents for the firing squad.
The door of an ambulance was flung open and out stepped F.W.K. Akuffo, the immediate past Head of State. He was followed by Gen Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa a former military ruler, Gen Robert Kotei, Col Roger Felli, Air Vice-Marshal Yaw Boakye and Rear Admiral Joy Amedume. All of them were blindfolded and led by the soldiers towards the stake.
A sudden hush fell on the teeming spectators.
The six condemned senior military officers were led to the stakes and the ropes tied across their chest and around their legs. First was Gen Akuffo, then Gen Bob Kotei, Gen Afrifa, Air Vice-Marshal Yaw Boakye, Col Roger Felli and last, towards the sea, Rear-Admiral Joy Amedume.
Hardly anyone saw the firing squad enter the tents, all attention was on the condemned officers. And there was no audible order to fire. Just a sudden: “ko. ko….ko.ko.ko”. From my vantage point just besides the tents, I could see the blood soaking through their dresses where the bullets hit."
"Regrettable, But..."
In 2008, Former President Rawlings told the media that though the killings were regrettable, there was no way his AFRC junta could have avoided them.
“...very painful and regrettable, but there was no other way out," he told members of a Forum organized by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him, if the executions had not been carried out, the rank and file of the Ghanaian Army would have slaughtered the officer corps.
"Witness Traumatised"
Sharing the traumatic experience in an exclusive interview with Kwami Sefa-Kayi in an interview on Peace FM morning show ‘Kokrokoo’ Tuesday, Mr Sam, who was then a Daily Graphic reporter and present at the scene of the execution, described the sight as pitiful, very awful, and ignominious.
“Personally, I was traumatised. It was a pathetic scene I saw…I was grief-stricken…,” he painfully recalled.
According to him, “that day will remain indelibly imprinted in my mind until the Lord our savior calls me to eternity”.
Coincidentally, June 26th is the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. A day set aside by the UN to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world.
May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.
Click on the audio ABOVE to listen to Mr Albert Sam's narration of the shocking event as it unfolded.
Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com
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Mahama is bribing Kwame aka General to criminalize JJ Rawlings for NDC infightings but it wouldn't work for him no matter how much Ibrahim and Mahama is spending on Peacefm greedy reporters they would never lead Ndc again. If we can have Ndc back no one would.
J.J RAWLINGS IS A VERY WICKED MAN AND HE STILL HAS THE GUTS TO TALK AND CELEBRATE JUNE 4TH IN GHANA.. OO MY GOD ... GHANA SHOULD TAKE RAWLINGS TO COURT AND SENTENCE HIM
The military has been in power from 1972 and the sort of atrocities that has been before 1979 were clearly available to the military in the time before J J Rawlings began the sort attacking the military hierarchy and when he was arrested and the court martial began and he said all those arrested should be freed and he alone bare the consequences and that affected the moral of the whole military and the night before he was to executed Major Biakye Gyan and other were to free him from cells and took to broadcasting house in the early hours of 4th June 1979 to announce the AFRC and suspend everything.
Look at the behavior of the PNDC/NDC people today and tell me if it’s worth forgetting the brutal murders of our dear Fathers and the frogging of our mothers in open markets such as Takoradi Market Circle, Accra Makola Market, Kumasi Kejetia Market etc. Because non of your relatives suffered in that manner you are telling us to forget and go read some book. As Logic, suggested to kofi, you must also go to the You tube: type in Mathew Adebuga, Awuni and Adomako Nyamekye’s video interviews with Lawyer Andy.
long live the Revolution, long live the AFRC
Kwame safa Kayi what exactly do you hope to achieve with this? Do you want to further divide this nation and set one tribe against the other? Every country in this world has an ***barred word*** history but at a point in time conventional wisdom taught us to leave that behind and unite as a nation and move forward. But what you have started for sometimes now for whatever parochial reason you embarked on this mission will not be in the best interest of our country. You think you are mighty and can do anything as a journalist and have people to follow you but pause and think about how this will affect the very people you claim you were in the same class with and were affected by this incident. Don't you think you are setting these families against Rawling's children especially? Should things get ***barred word*** between these families can you live with that? Sometimes its reasonable to apply a little bit of common sense in our profession. Read this book by Sydney Sheldon "Nothing last forever".
@Kofi. Wow! You shocked me. If you care that much, why didn’t you stop Rawlings and his NDC supporters from celebrating the June 4th Revolution? Just go to ***barred word*** and search for Adebuga, Awuni, Adomako Nyamekye(all retired soldiers) interviews with Lawyer Andy, and you will know the real color of Rawlings and his party supporters.
He didn't kill just any body but ***barred word*** and nation looters period.
Kwame is going a good job for the NPP. I posted sometime ago when the US "base" issue started preceded by the cash for seats issue and so on that my brother will throw in such stories. I share in the sorrow of those who lost their fathers, brothers, uncles and grandfathers on that day that human beings turned on each other like animals do but our journalists will try to neutralise events that will enable current governments to realise that they are governing people but not lording themselves over them. The NPP is in trouble so my brother is throwing in these stories and making it top of thew news agenda. When the NDC is also in power we get other journalists and broadcasters doing the same thing on their behalf. I always say there is a reason why out kinsmen beg to be enslaved on the desert in this day and age. This dastardly act happened 39 years ago and it has never been a headline story until today. What has changed?
What J J did in the execution was the most wickedd thing ever done in in modern history of the world. The Generals were executed in cold blood. They were not engaged in war or involved in any attempt to overthrow J J regime. They were just taken from their homes and executed just because J J was afraid of their existence. It shows J J and his group not only as the most wickeddd but the most cowarddd. Killing the Generals just for the fear of them. In fact the existence of JJ and Boakye Gyan without becoming anathema and imprisoned indict Ghanaians as wickedness, callousss, cowardsss, hypocritesss. It is shameful that some noble people in Ghana continue to accord such iiiidiottttss some amount of dignity. Any cordiality to them betray the true characters of those who offer it to them. Certainly, God will deal with them according to their sinsss. They will pay for their evillll for God is a just God and that he does not encourage such wickednessss.