The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was the government of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
from June 4, 1979, to September 24, 1979.
4 June military coup
The AFRC came to power in a coup that removed the
Supreme Military Council, another military regime, from power. The June 4 coup was preceded by an abortive attempt on May 15, 1979, when Flt. Lt.
Jerry Rawlings
Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...
and other ranks were arrested. Their trial only served to make them popular till they were eventually released on the morning of June 4 by young officers and noncommissioned officers inspired by Rawlings. During the fighting that ensued throughout the day, a number of military personnel lost their lives. These include
Major General Odartey-Welllington who led the government's resistance to the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. Others who fell that day included another officer, Colonel Joseph Enningful who was a former Commander of the Support Services of the Ghana Armed Forces. Other soldiers who died that day include Second-Lieutenant J. Agyemang Bio, Corporal William Tingan, Lance Corporal Sorkpor, Trooper Samuel Larsey, Trooper Emmanuel Koranteng-Apau, Lance Corporal Gabriel Follivi and Lance Corporal Mamudu Kalifa. They were all buried with full military honours at the Osu Military Cemetery in
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
.
House cleaning exercise
The regime started a 'House cleaning' exercise against corruption. Three former military leaders of Ghana,
Lt. Gen. Afrifa,
Gen. Acheampong and
Lt. Gen. Akuffo were all executed together with five other senior officers deemed to have been corrupt by the special courts set up by the government.
Numerous business entrepreneurs were also targeted and unlawfully had their assets confiscated by the AFRC government including
J. K. Siaw.
The AFRC allowed already scheduled
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
to go ahead and handed over to the duly elected Dr.
Hilla Limann
Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served the President of Ghana from 24 September 1979 to 31 December 1981. He served as a diplomat in Lome, Togo and Geneva, Switzerland.
Education
...
of the
People's National Party
The People's National Party (PNP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in ...
who became the only president of the Third Republic of Ghana.
Membership
The AFRC consisted of 15 members.
*Captain Henry Smith – one of the architects of the uprising and described by officers and soldiers in June 1979 as the officer who was responsible for the success of the uprising – declined membership of the AFRC. He was, nevertheless, given the portfolio of "special duties" and was also put in charge of the Foreign Affairs ministry.
*Lieutenant Commander H. C. Apaloo died in a
road traffic accident before the end of AFRC rule.
Commissioners
Commissioners were in place of Ministers of state and most carried on from the previous government. A number of commissioners had to cover additional ministries during the period of the AFRC.
See also
*
History of Ghana (1966–79)
References
{{Authority control
Conflicts in 1979
Military of Ghana
Military coups in Ghana
Governments of Ghana
Politics of Ghana
1979 establishments in Ghana
1979 disestablishments in Ghana
June 1979 events in Africa
July 1979 events in Africa
August 1979 events in Africa
September 1979 events in Africa
1970s coups d'état and coup attempts