Ignatius Kutu Acheampong ( ; (23 September 1931 – 16 June 1979) was the military

head of state of Ghana This is a list of the heads of state of Ghana, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the present day. From 1957 to 1960 the head of state under the Constitution of 1957 was the queen of Ghana, Elizabeth II, who was also the queen of the U ...

from 13 January 1972 to 5 July 1978, when he was deposed in a palace coup. He was executed by firing squad on 16 June 1979.

Early life and education

Acheampong was born to Catholic parents of Ashanti origin. He attended the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

schools at

Trabuom Trabuom is a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The town is known for the Afia Kobi Ampem Girls Secondary School. The school is a second cycle The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historic ...

and the St Peter's school (also Catholic) at

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

, both in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

of Ghana. He attended the then Central College of Commerce at

Agona Swedru Agona Swedru is a town and the capital of Agona West Municipal District, a district in the Central Region, Ghana, Central Region of south Ghana. Agona Swedru has a 2013 Human settlement, settlement population of about 70,000 people. Akwam ...

in the

Central Region of Ghana The Central Region is one of the sixteen administrative regions of Ghana. It is bordered by Ashanti and Eastern regions to the north, Western region to the west, Greater Accra region to the east, and to the south by the Gulf of Guinea. The Cen ...

. Acheampong worked as a stenographer/secretary at Timber Sawmill in Kumasi and later taught at Kumasi Commercial College, where he became Vice Principal at Agona-Swedru College of Commerce. He was commissioned 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 Wes ...

in 1959, and served as a member of the

UN peacekeepers Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

during the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

Politics

Acheampong led a bloodless ''coup d'état'' to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Progress Party and its leader Dr

Kofi Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (born 11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the ...

on 13 January 1972. He became head of state and chairman 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 p ...

(NRC), which was later transformed into the Supreme Military Council on 9 October 1975, with Colonel Acheampong (promoted to General) as its chairman. He proposed a 'Union Government' which means that, there would be power sharing between the civilian and the armed forces. This led to students demonstrations and closure of universities in Ghana. The violent clashes between pro and anti UNIGOV factions led to the death of at least four people in Kumasi. Notable historical changes and events introduced or implemented in

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 ...

during the period under Acheampong include: the change from the imperial to the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Interna ...

of measurement, change from driving on the left to right-hand traffic in "Operation Keep Right", "Operation Feed Yourself" (a programme aimed at developing self-reliance in agriculture), "National Reconstruction" (aimed at promoting employment and skill for workers), face-lift projects in cities, and the reconstruction/upgrading of stadia to meet international standards. There were, however, widespread accusations of both the encouragement and endorsement of corruption in the country under his rule. A few months after Acheampong came to power, on 27 April 1972, former president Kwame Nkrumah died in exile. Power in Ghana had changed hands several times since Nkrumah was overthrown, and Acheampong allowed Nkrumah's body to be returned and buried on 9 July 1972 at the village of his birth,

Nkroful Nkroful is a village in the Ellembelle District, a district in the Western Region of south Ghana, located near Axim in the Nzema East Municipal of the Western Region.

, Ghana.

Execution

Acheampong was court martialed and executed along with General

Edward Kwaku Utuka Edward Kwaku Utuka (27 January 1937 – 16 June 1979) was a Ghanaian military officer, who held the rank of major general of the Ghana Armed Forces, was a former border guards commander and member of the Supreme Military Council I & II, the rulin ...

by firing squad on 16 June 1979. Ten days later, two other former heads of state,

Akwasi Afrifa Lieutenant General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa Born (24 April 1936 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghanaian soldier, farmer, traditional ruler and politician. He was the head of state of Ghana and leader of the military government in 1969 and then chairman o ...

and

Fred Akuffo Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo (21 March 1937 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He was Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from 1976 to 1978, and chairman of the ruling Supr ...

, and senior military officers Joy Amedume, George Boakye,

Roger Joseph Felli Colonel Roger Joseph Atogetipoli Felli (May 2, 1941 – June 26, 1979) was a soldier and politician who was once the foreign minister of Ghana. Roger Felli was born at Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region ...

and

Robert Kotei Major General Robert Ebenezer Abossey Kotei (15 July 1935 – 26 June 1979) was a soldier, politician and track and field athlete. He was once the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and also a member of the Supreme Military Co ...

, were executed following the 4 June military uprising that brought Flight Lieutenant

Jerry John 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 the AFRC to power who were young officers. The AFRC brought Ghana back to civilian rule in September 1979 three months after the uprising.

Personal life

Acheampong was married to Faustina Acheampong. His grandson is an American football player

Charlie Peprah Charles Yaw Peprah (born February 24, 1983) is a former American football safety and current football scout. He played college football at Alabama. Peprah was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also b ...

. His other Grandson is 6'9

Fulham FC Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

striker Yakini Acheampong. His parents were James Kwadwo Kutu Acheampong and Madam Akua Manu

References

External links