Ghana has seen many great leaders who placed the country on the world stage, with some fighting vigorously to secure the freedom Ghanaians enjoy today.
History shows that these leaders did not have smooth journeys and often suffered betrayal, sometimes at the hands of people closest to them.
Historian and lawyer Yaw Anokye Frimpong, in a recent interview on Max TV, provided historical details of some of the greatest betrayals the country has witnessed.
Below are some of these great leaders and the betrayals they suffered:
Kaku Ackah
One of the great leaders of pre-independent Ghana who was betrayed, according to Anokye Frimpong, was Kaku Ackah I, the great-grandfather of Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Kaku Ackah I, the chief of Nzema in the 1840s, was betrayed by his own people after refusing to accept British rule by declining to sign the Bond of 1844.
He refused to sign the bond because he believed that although the land would remain theirs, the people would be ruled by British laws, effectively selling their freedom to the colonialists.
Kaku Ackah I not only refused to sign but openly called the other chiefs who signed the bond “fools” for surrendering their freedom, which led to an attack by the British.
During the conflict, his own soldiers, who had secretly conspired with the British, retreated, leading to Kaku Ackah’s arrest.
At his trial, Kaku Ackah impressed the British when he declared that, as a sovereign chief, he could not subject himself to a foreign court and insisted they should kill him instead.
Although initially sentenced to death, the British reduced his punishment to solitary confinement. He died after six years in prison.
The British described Kaku Ackah as a great man who defended his conscience. He was buried at the Cape Coast Castle, becoming the only black person to be buried there.
Prempeh I
Nana Prempeh I (L) and the Current Asantehene
According to Anokye Frimpong, another great betrayal was suffered by Nana Prempeh I, the 13th Asantehene.
He explained that Kwame Tua, a former sub-chief of Asanteman, who remains disliked to this day, betrayed Nana Prempeh I by revealing the location of the sacred Golden Stool to the British.
During the governorship of Maxwell, the British actively searched for the Golden Stool, believing it would bring them wealth and power in the region.
Kwame Tua provided information about the stool’s whereabouts and those connected to it, which eventually led to the arrest of Nana Prempeh I.
While under British protection, Kwame Tua further betrayed Prempeh by having affairs with the wives of the imprisoned Asantehene and even publicly marrying one of them.
Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey
Dr Kwegyir Aggrey is on Ghana’s five cedi note:
Another betrayal, according to Anokye Frimpong, involved Dr James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey.
Dr Kwegyir Aggrey, who held two doctorate degrees, was so brilliant that he was envied by the whites, who could not match his excellence.
His remarkable work with the Phelps Stokes Fund, a foundation focused on Africa’s development, drew international attention.
Anokye Frimpong claimed that when white officials realised Dr Aggrey’s growing influence, they saw him as a threat.
In 1927, after returning to the United States to present his project reports, Dr Aggrey was allegedly poisoned and died at the age of 51.
Raphael Grey Armattoe
Anokye Frimpong also recounted the betrayal of Raphael Grey Armattoe, a brilliant scientist and political activist who died at just 41 years old.
Armattoe was the first African to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948 and finished second for the Nobel Prize in Science and Physiology.
He invented a medication that saved millions of Nigerians from ringworm and blood diseases.
Armattoe, a passionate advocate for the unification of British and French Togoland (modern-day Eweland), was the first person to write a book in three international languages, English, French, and German.
According to the historian, Armattoe was poisoned shortly after delivering a speech at the United Nations on Ewe unification. He was taken to Germany for treatment, but did not survive.
Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah
Dr Kwame Nkrumah (L) and his foreign affairs minister, Dr Alex Quaison-Sackey
Finally, Anokye Frimpong said Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was betrayed by his trusted confidant, Dr Alex Quaison-Sackey, who served as Nkrumah’s foreign affairs minister.
He alleged that Dr Quaison-Sackey played a key role in the CIA-backed plot that led to Nkrumah’s overthrow in February 1966.
According to the historian, Nkrumah deeply trusted Quaison-Sackey, who reassured him that he could safely travel without fearing a coup. However, Quaison-Sackey allegedly colluded with the CIA.
Anokye Frimpong claimed that the CIA promised to make Quaison-Sackey the next president of Ghana, which motivated his betrayal.
Watch the full interview below:
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