February 24 marks 50 years since Ghana's first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah was removed from power in a coup orchestrated while he was overseas.
One of the coup leaders detailed what happened those five decades ago.
In his historical account, A. A Afrifa wrote he visited Colonel Kotoka in his house in Kumasi and they spoke about Nkrumah's forthcoming visits to Hanoi, and agreed that during his absence, a coup should be staged.
Afifa said it seemed that Kotoka had been thinking about a coup for some time.
“ He was so happy that we stayed up until the early hours of the morning drinking beer and making plans.”
The next day the pair made a plan, and swore to each other that in the event of anything happening to either of them, the one left alive would see the coup through.
Kotoka went to Accra to meet General J.W.K. Harlley, then Commissioner of Police.
It was agreed that Major-Gen Ankrah should lead the new government.
The exercise started at 04.00am on Wednesday 23rd February 1966, 600 men representing all the units in the garrison at Tamale started moving.
“They were moving to the south and to an unknown destination for a test exercise in connection with the Rhodesian operation. Since November 1965, we had been in the high state of readiness to move into Rhodesia at short notice. We exploited this situation to deceive the intelligence system.”
Kotoka and Afrifa met the troops between Ejura and Atebubu at midday, then Kotaka went to Accra to confirm to Harrley and Brigadier Ocran that the exercise was going ahead.
Meanwhile, Major Coker- Appiah, a trusted friend of Afrifa's from Sandhurst, was assigned responsibility for the arrest of the director of Military Intelligence, Brigadier Hasan, and the Commander of P.O.G.R, Colonel Zanerigu.
The arrest of the late Major -General Barwah was a separate exercise. The director of MI surrendered on orders, and the P.O.G.R Commander escaped through a window.
Afrifa reported that Barwah resisted arrest “most unwisely and thereby compelled an officer to adopt other methods which he himself knew would be adopted if he was stubborn.”
By 6.00am on 24th February the Accra police had rounded up most of the Ministers.
“Not a single shot was fired at the Castle. At the Flagstaff house, our casualties would have been very heavy if the opposition had been trained properly, and by this time most of our men were wounded.”
The coup captured the Ghana Radio Station and at 05.25 hours were in full control of the studios.
“I went on radio and asked the now awakened Ghanaians to stay by the radios for important announcement at 6am and I told them, there would not be the usual news.”
Just before six o'clock, Kotoka arrived at the radio station, shaking Afrifa's hand congratulating him on the coup.
He went on air stating: “"Fellow citizens of Ghana, I have come to inform you that the military in co-operation with the Ghana Police, have taken over the government of Ghana today. The Myth surrounding Nkrumah has been broken. Parliament is dissolved and Kwame Nkrumah is dismissed from Office. All ministers are also dismissed. The CPP is disbanded with effect from now. It is illegal for any person to belong to it.
“We appeal to you to be calm and cooperative; all persons in detention will be released in due course. Please stay by your radios and await further details.”
The Four major players in the 1966 coup, as mentioned in Afrifah's account are:
Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka
The man Ghana's international airport is named after was born in 1926, and killed in 1967.
He trained as a catechist, had worked as a teacher, and trained as a goldsmith.
He joined the Gold Coast Regiment in 1947 and was soon promoted to company sergeant major, he spent time in the UK studying and in 1955 returned to Ghana (then the Gold Coast) working his way up the military ranks, in 1961 he was named Lt.-Colonel.
In 1965 he was transferred to Kumasi where he befriended Major Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, Commander of the First Infantry Brigade.
The following year the two plotted and staged the coup under code name "Operation Cold Chop".
Kotoka announced the success of the coup over Ghana's radio.
He was then promoted Major General and was member of the ruling National Liberation Council and Commissioner in charge of Health as well as General Officer Commanding the Ghana Armed Force.
In 1967 an unsuccessful counter coup took place, which lead to the killing of Kotoka by Lt. Moses Yeboah after heavy fighting.
General Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa
Afrifa was born in 1936, in Asante Mampong, in the Asante Region. He went to Cape Coast for secondary school and enlisted in the armed forces in 1958, later training in the UK.
In 1960, Afrifa was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Ghana Armed Forces and served as General Staff Officer in the army from 1962 up to 1964.
By 1965 he was staff officer in charge of army training and operations in Kumasi, which served as the headquarters of the Second Infantry Brigade.
In 1966, with Lieutenant-Colonel Kotoka, he led the joint southern-northern military exercise that overthrew Nkrumah's rule.
He became the Chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970 when the second republican rule was restored and bestowed on Dr K.A. Busia-led Progress Party on 03 September 1969.
He later retired from the army and went to his home village to farm, but remained involved in politics.
The former head of state was elected Member of Parliament in 1979 but failed to take up his seat at the Third Republican Parliament.
He was executed by firing squad on 26 June 1979, after the 4 June Uprising, that was staged by the then Captain Kojo Boakye Djan. This ushered in the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), to be headed by Flt-Lt J.J. Rawlings.
J.A. Ankrah
Born in 1915, and dying of natural causes in 1922, educated in Accra, Ankrah was mobilised into the West Africa Frontier Force on the outbreak of World War Two, a profile on Ghana Web said.
He also did his training in the UK and in 1947 was commissioned Lieutenant, and rose through the ranks, in 1960 he was appointed Colonel. He was involved in the 1960-61 UN Peace-Keeping Force in Congo, Brigade Commander of force based in Lutuaborg, Kasai, he was later further promoted to Major General and appointed Deputy Chief of Defence Staff.
In 1966 though he was retired, he was recalled to be Head of State after the 1966. coup As Chairman of the NLC, Ankrah became Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces following the death of Kotoka.
In 1969 he was forced to resign as Chairman of NLC and Head of State over a bribery scandal involving a Nigerian businessman.
Police Inspector General J.W.K. Harlley
Born 1919, at the time of the February 24, 1966 coup d'état Harlley was the Inspector General of Police, and was one of the eight members of the National Liberation Council government formed afterwards.
He remained in his office as the head of the police force and was then appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1967 and 1968.
He was one of three members of a 1969 Presidential Commission.