The Ghana Armed Forces Central Band (GAF Central Band or AFCB) is the official military band of the

Ghana Armed Forces The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military com ...

. The AFCB is the oldest military band in the country and the most senior in the military, hence its name. Its command structure runs through the Support Services Brigade (in an arrangement designated in the mid-1980s) while its official

branch of service Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifi ...

is the Ghana Army. It is currently led by Lieutenant Colonel Johnathan Gerrard Mawah and directed by Colonel George Abosi Oppong. Musicians are recruited from all branches of the armed forces, with soldiers being required to have 2 credits and 4 passes at

West African Senior School Certificate Examination The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West A ...

(WASSCE), as well as have to be at least 27 years old.

Ghanaian military band history

Drums and blowing through pipes were a common aspect of military bands even before the United Kingdom came to control Ghana. The earliest indication of a military band in the Gold Coast was during the Battle of Nsamankow in 1824. The Royal Military Band of Kumasi, Gold Coast was a British Army band that was dressed in a mix of traditional and British style uniforms, having a mix of European brass instruments as well as western style drums. In the 1970s, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Budu Larb served as band director.

The band today

State functions that are supported by the GAF Band include the Trooping of the Colour on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

, state visits and the guard mounting ceremony at

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, , ...

's Jubilee House. Members of the band perform in army uniforms similar to those of the

President's Own Guard Regiment The President's Own Guard Regiment (POGR) is an infantry regiment of the Ghana Army (GA). POGR history The POGR infantry regiment was founded in 1960 as the Presidential Guard Regiment following Ghana's independence when Kwame Nkrumah increased ...

. In November 2001, Defence Minister Kwame Addo-Kufuor personally conducted the band. The band and the 66th Artillery Regiment were present during the inauguration of President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d'Ivoire in Yamoussoukro on 21 May 2011. As a result, President

John Evans Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing par ...

personally consulted with the band (led by then Lieutenant Colonel Francis Ennin) and the regiment in Osu Castle, apologizing to both for the fact that their Ghanaian plane could not return them home due to technical difficulties in landing and announcing that the country would acquire two special purpose planes from Brazil. In appreciation of the band, Mills said: "Your performance made us very proud. On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I say a very big thank you for your exceptional performance". In August 2012, Colonel Sampson Paa-Kwesi Ebonyi (the then director of music of the band) was a guest conductor for the United States Air Force Band. The two bands have also performed together during the former's visit to Ghana in the mid-2010s. Military bands in Ghana today are divided between three units, the AFCB, the Ghana Navy Band, and the Ghana Air Force Band (representing the Army, Navy and Air Force respectively). The AFCB is supported in training by the Armed Forces Music School.

References

{{Reflist Military bands Military units and formations of Ghana