Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (October 26, 1926 – April 17, 1967) was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council
which came to power in Ghana
in a military coup d'état
on February 24, 1966. This overthrew the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
, the first president
of the republic
.
of the Volta Region
of Ghana
. He completed his basic education at the Alakple Roman Catholic School and later the Anloga Senior School in 1941. He started training as a goldsmith but switched to a career in the military.
in Accra
. He rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant
in 1948 and later Company Sergeant Major in 1951. In 1952, he was among some west African soldiers selected for training at Eaton Hall
Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom
. In 1954, he was commissioned as a lieutenant
and seconded to the British army
on the Rhine.
On his return to the Gold Coast
(as Ghana was then called), he was made a Platoon Commander of the Second Gold Coast Regiment of Infantry. He rose to become the Second-in-Command and in 1959 became the Platoon Commander with the rank of Captain. He was promoted to the rank of Major
later that year. In 1960, he attended the Company Commander's course at the School of Infantry in Westminster
, England
. In 1960, he was the commander of D company of the detachment of the Second Battalion of the Ghana army which made up Ghana's contingent in the United Nations Operation in the Congo
deployed in the capital, Leopoldville, now Kinshasa
in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was regarded as a national hero following this deployment. He was awarded the Ghana Service Order for Exceptional Bravery for Distinguished Service in the Congo in 1963. He later became the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade (now the Northern Command) of the Ghana Army
) based at Kumasi
.
, an officer in the Second Brigade of the Ghana army. The two are generally credited with being among the key conspirators behind the first bloody coup d'état in Ghana on February 24, 1966 which brought an end to the first republic. They codenamed it "Operation Cold Chop". It was Kotoka who announced the coup to the nation early that morning from the Broadcasting House of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the official radio station in Ghana. The Central Intelligence Agency
appears to have been aware about the plotting of the coup at least a year ahead.
Kotoka was promoted Major General
and became a member of the ruling National Liberation Council and also the Commissioner for Ministry of Health
as well as General Officer Commanding
the Ghana Armed Forces.
in the Volta Region
. It was code named "Guitar-boy
". It led to the killing of Kotoka by Lt. Moses Yeboah after heavy fighting. Lt. Moses Yeboah and another colleague were later tried and executed by a military tribunal. The Ghana International Airport was renamed Kotoka International Airport
in his memory. He was killed at a spot which is now part of the forecourt of the airport and his statue stands at that point.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (October 26, 1926 – April 17, 1967) was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council
National Liberation Council
The National Liberation Council was the name of the Ghanaian government after the elected government of the Convention Peoples' Party led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966. This government was in place till they handed over to a democratically elected government on October...
which came to power in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in a military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
on February 24, 1966. This overthrew the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, the first president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
.
Early life
Emmanuel Kotoka was born at Alakple, a village in the Keta districtKeta District
The Keta Municipal District is a district of Ghana in the Volta Region. the town of Keta is the administrative centre.-Bounds:Keta Municipal District is bounded by:* the Gulf of Guinea to the east and south,...
of the Volta Region
Volta Region
Volta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. He completed his basic education at the Alakple Roman Catholic School and later the Anloga Senior School in 1941. He started training as a goldsmith but switched to a career in the military.
Military career
In July 1947, he enlisted as a private in the Infantry School of the Gold Coast Regiment at TeshieTeshie
Teshie is a city in Ghana in the Greater Accra Region. Fort Augustaborg, built by the Danes in 1787, is located in Teshie and was occupied by the British from 1850 to 1957. The national Officer Cadet Training School and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre are also located here...
in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
. He rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in 1948 and later Company Sergeant Major in 1951. In 1952, he was among some west African soldiers selected for training at Eaton Hall
Eaton Hall (Cheshire)
Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is set within a large estate south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England . The house is surrounded by formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers an area of about .The first substantial house was...
Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1954, he was commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and seconded to the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on the Rhine.
On his return to the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
(as Ghana was then called), he was made a Platoon Commander of the Second Gold Coast Regiment of Infantry. He rose to become the Second-in-Command and in 1959 became the Platoon Commander with the rank of Captain. He was promoted to the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
later that year. In 1960, he attended the Company Commander's course at the School of Infantry in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1960, he was the commander of D company of the detachment of the Second Battalion of the Ghana army which made up Ghana's contingent in the United Nations Operation in the Congo
United Nations Operation in the Congo
Opération des Nations unies au Congo, abbreviated ONUC, was a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo that was established after United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 of July 14, 1960...
deployed in the capital, Leopoldville, now Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was regarded as a national hero following this deployment. He was awarded the Ghana Service Order for Exceptional Bravery for Distinguished Service in the Congo in 1963. He later became the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade (now the Northern Command) of the Ghana Army
Ghana Army
The Ghana Army is the army of the West African nation of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army...
) based at Kumasi
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...
.
Politics
In 1965, the then Lieutenant-Colonel Kotoka was transferred to Kumasi where he met and became friends with then Major Akwasi Amankwa AfrifaAkwasi Afrifa
Brigadier Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa was a Ghanaian soldier, farmer, a traditional ruler and politician.He was the head of state of Ghana and leader of the military government in 1969 and then Chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970. He continued as a farmer and political activist...
, an officer in the Second Brigade of the Ghana army. The two are generally credited with being among the key conspirators behind the first bloody coup d'état in Ghana on February 24, 1966 which brought an end to the first republic. They codenamed it "Operation Cold Chop". It was Kotoka who announced the coup to the nation early that morning from the Broadcasting House of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the official radio station in Ghana. The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
appears to have been aware about the plotting of the coup at least a year ahead.
Kotoka was promoted Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
and became a member of the ruling National Liberation Council and also the Commissioner for Ministry of Health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
as well as General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
the Ghana Armed Forces.
Death
On April 17, 1967, there was an abortive coup attempt involving junior officers of the reconnaissance regiment based at HoHo, Ghana
Ho is a town in southeast Ghana and is the capital of the Volta Region. It lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui , and is home to a museum, a cathedral and a large prison...
in the Volta Region
Volta Region
Volta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
. It was code named "Guitar-boy
Guitar-boy
Operation Guitar Boy was the code-name for an attempted coup d'état on April 17, 1967 in Ghana, by a group of junior officers of the Ghana Armed Forces...
". It led to the killing of Kotoka by Lt. Moses Yeboah after heavy fighting. Lt. Moses Yeboah and another colleague were later tried and executed by a military tribunal. The Ghana International Airport was renamed Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, is the country's premier international airport and has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800...
in his memory. He was killed at a spot which is now part of the forecourt of the airport and his statue stands at that point.
External links
- Ghana-pedia webpage - Lt-General Emmanuel K. Kotoka
- Ghana-pedia webpage - Operation Cold Chop: The Fall Of Kwame Nkrumah
- Profile on Ghana Home Page
- Ghana Home Page - Photo Report-Nkrumah's Overthrow!
Further reading
- Hansen, Emmanuel. 1968. Ghana: Background to Revolution. Transition, No. 35. (February - March, 1968), pp. 24–28.