Democracy Hub, a social activist group, in collaboration with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Ghana to remove the name Kotoka from the country’s International Airport. The group contends that keeping Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka’s name on a national monument contradicts Ghana’s democratic principles, as he played a pivotal role in the country’s first coup d’état in 1966
“For 59 years, Ghana has lived with the contradiction of denouncing coups while honouring one of the architects of the first military overthrow of an elected government,” the group stated. Democracy Hub and the CPP insist that the naming of Kotoka International Airport under the General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339) is a state-sanctioned endorsement of unconstitutional rule. They believe removing the name would be a step towards reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to democracy.
“It is time for Ghana to make a clear statement that it stands against unconstitutional rule, not just in rhetoric but in practice,” the statement added. The lawsuit, supported by legal experts from Merton & Everett LLP, follows extensive legal and archival research. Democracy Hub is calling on civil society groups, youth activists, and defenders of democracy to back the legal challenge, describing it as “more than a court case, it is a national reckoning with our past.”
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, born 26 September 1926 – 17 April 1967, was a Ghanaian military officer who was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council which came to power in a military coup d’état on 24 February 1966. This overthrew the government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the republic.
By: Kareen Tei
