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Ghana The 1979 Coup and the First Rawlings Government
Ghana's third military coup was planned by a small group of
disgruntled officers. On May 15, 1979, less than five weeks before
the national elections, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and
several members of the air force (junior officers and corporals)
unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the government. During the court
martial of the coup's seven plotters, Rawlings justified his action
by claiming that official corruption had eroded public confidence
in the government and had tarnished the image of the armed forces.
Rawlings also charged that Syrian and Lebanese businessmen living
in Ghana had gained control of the country's economy at the expense
of the African majority.
On the night of June 3, 1979, a group of junior officers and
enlisted personnel of the Fifth Battalion and the Reconnaissance
Regiment in Burma Camp staged a coup and freed Rawlings. These
individuals then formed the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC) to rule the country. The AFRC included a cross section of
ranks from private and lance corporal to staff sergeant, airman,
lieutenant, and naval commander. Although the scheduled elections
occurred as planned on June 18, 1979, the AFRC retained power until
September 24, 1979, when President Hilla Limann and the People's
National Party (PNP) assumed control of the government.
Meanwhile, the AFRC purged the senior ranks of the armed forces
and executed eight officers, three of whom had been former heads of
state (Acheampong, Akuffo, and Afrifa). From July to September
1979, special courts held hearings and sentenced 155 military
officers, former officials, and wealthy businessmen to prison terms
ranging from six months to ninety-five years. Additionally, the
AFRC collected back taxes from numerous government officials and
threatened to seize the assets of many others unless they refunded
money to the state that they had allegedly embezzled or stolen. The
AFRC also charged hundreds of military officers with corruption and
sentenced them to long prison terms. Many civil servants fell
victim to the purge and lost their jobs as well.
Data as of November 1994
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