1982 Murder: Meet the 3 High Court judges, soldier killed and burnt during the PNDC era

Have you wondered why the Supreme Court of Ghana has three statues in front of it, often referred to as the martyrs of the law?

It all started in 1981 when the late former president, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings successfully staged a bloodless coup d’état against Dr.Hilla Limann.

On June 30, 1982, some three High Court judges were abducted from their homes and burnt to death at the Bundase Military Training Camp in Ghana.

Jerry John Rawlings formed the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) after the coup to rule the country from December 1981 to January 1983.

However, on June 30, 1982, three High Court judges and a retired army officer were abducted from their homes, killed, and burnt at the Bundase Military Training Camp.

The judges were believed to have been targeted due to their rulings on cases that were unfavorable to the military regime.

This incident is widely considered a dark chapter in Ghana’s history, highlighting the dangers of political interference in the judiciary.

Here are details of the three judges and the military officer killed in 1982:

Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow:

Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow was born at Assin Nsuta, on March 24, 1936.

She attended primary school at the Roman Catholic School at Assin Anyinabrim, and the Assin Edubiase Methodist School. She then furthered her secondary school education at Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) and completed her secondary education at Holy Child High School in 1959.

Justice Cecilia moved to the United Kingdom where she studied law at the University of Hull. She was called to the Bar in 1963 and then returned to Ghana in 1964.

The High Court judge was abducted and murdered in secret on June 30, 1982, during the hours of a nighttime curfew. Her body was discovered in the same location the following day.

According to reports, the murderers carried along gasoline, with which they set fire to her body in an attempt to cover their crime, however, due to rain that dawn, the body did not burn to ashes.

What might have caused the death of Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow?

According to reports, in 1980 Cecilia ruled in favor of one businessman who had been detained in the 1979 revolution led by late Jerry John Rawlings.

After hearing the cases, Justice Cecilia ruled in favor of the businessman and called for his release.

She was also the first judge to question the transitional provision of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in the 1979 constitution, where she set free an AFRC convict.

Justice Cecilia also worked on cases involving the rioting workers of Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC) who attacked Parliament during the third republic.

Frederick Poku Sarkodee:

Justice Frederick Poku Sarkodee was born in Koforidua in the Eastern Region on August 26, 1927.

He began his education at the ECM School in Koforidua and continued at Adisadel College in 1943, where he obtained his Ordinary Level certificate (O-Level) in 1948.

Justice Sarkodee was dismissed by the school following his involvement in the 1948 strike by various students in Ghana in protest against the arrest of the Big Six.

He continued his education in 1950 after passing his A-Level examination. He was sent to Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone for his undergraduate studies and in 1954, he proceeded to the United Kingdom to study law.

After being called to the Bar, he returned to the country where he began his career at the Office of the Attorney General in 1966.

He was known to have advocated for the cause of women before the existence of the ‘Intestate Succession Law of 1985 (PNDCL III),’ which was enacted to protect a married spouse under customary law.

He was married to Yvonne Sarkodee and had five children.

The High Court judge was also abducted on June 30, 1982, together with Justice Cecelia.

Justice Kwadwo Ageyi Agyapong:

He was born at Oyoko in the Ashanti Region in November 1926.

He had his early education at Asokore Local Authority Methodist School. In 1942, he earned a scholarship to study at Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, after obtaining his Cambridge school certificate in 1946.

He entered Wesley College where he was awarded his grade A Teachers’ Certificate.

He then furthered his university education in London in 1958 and was called to the Bar in 1960.

Agyapong returned to Ghana in 1961 to begin private legal practice.

In 1980, he made history by being the only High Court judge to sit on the then transitional Supreme Court Bench in the hearing of the historical constitutional case between the then People’s National Party (PNP) government and Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor.

He was also among the three judges killed in June 1982 at the Bundase Military camp.

Major Sam Acquah:

Major Sam Acquah (rtd) was the Managing Director of the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC).

Like the judges, Major Sam Acquah (rtd) was taken from his home at Dzorwulu and murdered by the soldiers of the revolution.

According to reports, he might have been killed due to a signed letter that led to the dismissal of some agitating workers, including PNDC member, Amartey Quaye, who became a suspect in the murder.

Suspects behind the killing of the murders:

Following intense pressure that was mounted on Rawlings and the PNDC, a Special Investigation Board was formed by the government to investigate the murders.

Some PNDC members were suspected of being behind the bloody murder of the three judges and an ex-military officer.

They were Lance Corporal Samuel Amedeka, Michael Senyah, Tekpor Hekli, Johnny Dzandu, and former PNDC member Amartey Quaye.

Committee Findings:

The findings from the committee indicated that the abduction and murder were a plot hatched with members of the PNDC.

In 1992, The Independent reported findings of the Special Investigation Board’s inquiry in Ghana, which it said had recommended the prosecution of 10 people for the murders, including Ghana’s head of national security at the time, Kojo Tsikata.

Tsikata, who was Rawlings’ right-hand man, filed a defamation lawsuit against The Independent on March 26, 1993, which he agreed to drop after The Independent published a correction statement in September 1998, in which they clarified that they had not intended to suggest that Tsikata was guilty of the crimes.

In June 1983, before the trial could be completed, Amedeka escaped from the Nsawam and Ussher Fort prisons where they were being held, and left Ghana.

Senya, Hekli, Dzandu, and Amartey Quaye a former PNDC member, were found guilty of murder, sentenced to death by firing squad in 1983.

Over four decades after the killing of the three high court judges and the retired military officer, Ghana has not forgotten the incident.

Some school of thought still points fingers at the late President Jerry John Rawlings for being a mastermind behind the murder of these personalities.