Lieutenant Colonel Chemogo Dodzil Benni is a Ghanaian soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a member of the

National Redemption Council The National Redemption Council (NRC) was the ruling Ghana military government from 13 January 1972 to 9 October 1975. Its chairman was Colonel I. K. Acheampong, who was thus also the head of state of Ghana. Duration of rule The NRC came into po ...

(NRC) military government which ruled

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 ...

between January 1972 and October 1975.

Early life and education

Benni was born at

Nandom Nandom is the capital town of the Nandom Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Nandom town and the multiple villages that surround it to the north, south, east, and west are inhabited by Dagara people. The Dagara of the Nandom municipal a ...

, now in the

Upper West Region The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest set ...

of Ghana where the

Dagaaba people The Dagaaba people (singular Dagao, and, in northern dialects, for both plural and singular
, update as of 25 May ...

are located. His secondary school education was at the Government Secondary School at

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

between 1954 and 1958.

Military career

Benni enlisted in the

Ghana Army The Ghana Army (GA) is the main ground warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West Af ...

in 1959. He underwent training at the Ghana Military Academy at

Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in the ...

, near

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, , ...

. He then proceeded to the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

for further studies between 1960 and 1962. He also studied at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

in the United States. He later rose to become the commander of the Third Battalion of the Second Infantry Brigade (now Central Command of the

). He was deployed with Ghanaian troops for peacekeeping duties in the Congo with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo in 1962 where he served as a platoon commander and then as an assistant liaison officer at the headquarters in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

. On his return to Ghana, he was appointed company commander of the Fifth Infantry Battalion based at Accra. He was moved to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General in 1966. Benni then became the Brigade Major of the First Infantry Brigade group (now Southern Command) in Accra in 1967. In 1968, he was transferred to Tamale where he served at the Sixth Battalion. His final posting in the army was as Commander of the Third Infantry Battalion based at

Sunyani Sunyani is a city and the capital town of the Bono Region and the Sunyani Municipal District, Sunyani Municipal of Ghana. Sunyani had a population of 74,24at the 2010 population and housing census. The city consists mainly of the Bonos by tribe ...

, now in the

Bono Region The Bono region is one of the 16 administrative regions of Ghana. It is as a result of the remainder of Brong-Ahafo region when Bono East region and Ahafo region were created. Sunyani, also known as the green city of Ghana, is the regional capit ...

in 1970.

Politics

Although Benni was not among the soldiers who initiated the 13 January 1972 coup d'état to overthrow the

Busia government This is a listing of the ministers who served in Busia's Progress Party government during the Second Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Gu ...

, he was one of the first to be appointed onto the original NRC. He was also made the Commissioner for NRC Affairs. In May 1973, he led the delegation which arranged for the return of the body of

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

from

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

to Ghana where Nkrumah had been living in exile since the coup of 24 February 1966. He was dropped when the NRC was replaced by the Supreme Military Council to accommodate the most senior military officers in government. He was also appointed the Commissioner for information in January 1972.

Diplomatic service

During the era of the Supreme Military Council, Benni was appointed as Ghana's ambassador to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and in 1979, reappointed as ambassador with concurrent accreditation to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benni, C. D. 1939 births Living people Ghana Army personnel Ghanaian diplomats Dagaaba people People from Upper West Region

Early life and education

Military career

Politics

Diplomatic service

See also

References