Sam Jonah urges Mahama to restore executed General Acheampong's rank
Business magnate Sir Sam Jonah says the rank was removed by decree before the former Head of State was shot in 1979 without a trial.
Ghanaian businessman Sir Sam Jonah has asked President John Mahama and the Ghana Armed Forces to give back the military rank of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, the former Head of State. Acheampong was stripped of his rank by decree and then shot by firing squad on June 16, 1979, without being convicted by any court.
Speaking at the second General Kutu Acheampong Public Lecture Series, Jonah said that restoring the rank would not endorse Acheampong's rule or erase the suffering of those who lived under it. He pointed out that other former military leaders executed in the same period still keep their titles in historical records, while Acheampong is called Mr Acheampong. He asked the President, the Armed Forces Council and Parliament to restore the rank of General, reinstate his name on the rolls of the Ghana Military Academy and return the honours tied to that rank to his family.
Jonah cited a 2019 acknowledgement by the Ghana Armed Forces that the 1979 executions were an aberration and said the decision to strip Acheampong of his rank should be looked at again. He also named Operation Feed Yourself, which promoted domestic food production, and policies on Ghanaian participation in mining as initiatives Ghanaians should recognise.
Why it mattersIf the rank is restored, the family would receive the honours that go with it and Acheampong's name would return to the Ghana Military Academy rolls.