According to a statement by Democracy Hub, the suit forms part of efforts to address what they describe as a broader effort aimed at correcting historical injustice.
“On this historic day, Democracy Hub, in collaboration with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking the removal of Kotoka’s name from Accra International Airport. This legal action is part of a broader effort to correct a historical injustice, challenge the glorification of unconstitutional rule, and reaffirm Ghana’s commitment to democratic governance.
“The 1992 Constitution of Ghana firmly rejects coups d’état, making it a duty of every citizen to defend democracy against military interventions. However, for 59 years, Ghana has lived with the contradiction of denouncing coups d’état while continuing to honor one of the architects of the first military overthrow of an elected government,” a Democracy Hub statement dated Monday, February 24, 2025, stated.
The group emphasized that the naming of the airport after Lieutenant General Kotoka, who was a key figure in the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, remains a state-sanctioned endorsement of illegality, hence the need to correct it.
“The continued veneration of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, the man whose actions helped overthrow Ghana’s 1960 Constitution and derail the country’s democratic progress, is an unacceptable contradiction. The naming of Kotoka International Airport, enshrined under the General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339), is a state-sanctioned endorsement of an illegal regime change. It is time for Ghana to make a clear statement that it stands against unconstitutional rule, not just in rhetoric but in practice,” the group said.
The suit by CPP and Democracy Hub coincides with the 59th anniversary of the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka was a Lieutenant General in the Ghanaian army who played a key role in the coup that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah on February 24, 1966. As a member of the National Liberation Council, Kotoka helped end Nkrumah’s government, which had led the country since independence in 1957.
His military career began under British colonial rule, and he rose through the ranks to become a prominent figure in Ghana’s post-independence armed forces. On April 17, 1967, Kotoka was killed in an abortive counter-coup attempt at the airport in Accra.
In 1969, the Accra International Airport was renamed Kotoka International Airport in his honor. The decision was made under the leadership of the National Liberation Council and later endorsed by Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia’s government. The renaming commemorated Kotoka’s role in the 1966 coup and his death on the airport grounds, reflecting the political sentiments of Nkrumah’s critics at the time, who viewed the coup as a restoration of freedom from what they described as Nkrumah’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
Nkrumah supervised the development of the airport from a British military airbase into a civilian facility.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
