Boakye Djan at NRC again

Osahene Boakye Djan, former member of the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, on Monday testified again at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), and apologised to Mr Justice Dixon Kwame Afreh, a retired Supreme Court judge for inadvertently linking him to the execution of eight army generals in 1979.

Answering questions in a cross-examination from Mr Afreh, Osahene Boakye Djan admitted that mentioning of Mr Afreh in his evidence last week, as one of the people the AFRC consulted before the execution of the generals in 1979, was an error.


He said he therefore, took immediate steps after the evidence, rang and further notified the Commission in writing of his apology to the former Supreme Court judge, but the Commission informed him that such apology was not in their procedure of doing things.


Osahene Boakye Djan said he subsequently rang Mr Afreh rendered an apology, and had further issued a press release to that effect.

He said his apology was on his own volition, without any prompting, nor demand from the former Supreme Court judge to apologise or retract the allegation.


Mr Justice Afreh, who held the portfolios of Information and Cocoa Affairs, in the AFRC government, said he had accepted the apology of the Osahene Boakye Djan, a former Major in the Ghana Armed Forces, describing the action of the Osahene as that of "a man of honour, a man of courage."

In his own evidence, Mr Afreh, who said he was called to become Commissioner in the AFRC government, said he served for three and half months.

Although a former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Mr Afreh said he had nothing with the setting up of the tribunals, the trials and executions of the army generals, and described their killings as "senseless, unnecessary and dastardly."

He said the AFRC operated at two levels of the Council members and Council of Commissioners, but he could not recall Council members ever meeting the Council of Commissioners.

Rather, General Joshua Hamidu acted as the liaison between the Members of the Council and the Council of Commissioners.

Mr Afreh said upon learning of the AFRC considering further executions after the executions of General Acheampong and Utuka, he together with Professor George Benneh, Commissioner then, one Mrs Gloria Nikoi and Joshua Hamidu went dissuade the AFRC from the planned executions, but they could not meet any of the Council members, namely Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, Osahene Boakye Djan then a Major, Major Mensah Poku, Major Mensah Gbedemah, Commander Apaloo, Lt Baah Achamfour at the Arakan Barracks to convince them to drop the further executions.

Rather they met the other ranks, supposedly the other members of the AFRC government, among whom after much persuasion, one remarked that it would be good to execute five more before stopping the execution.

Mr Afreh said a few days later, six other officers were executed, and added that the killing was done on the pressure of the other ranks mounted on the Council members and even threatened to kill them if they failed to carry them out.

He said the executions were uncharacteristic of coups, and spoke of a number of efforts at the risk of his life, including consulting the late Col Assasie, then Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation; and also the leader of the then People's National Party, that of the United National Convention Paa Willie in the night, as well as other influential people to save the lives the generals to no avail.

Mr Afreh said he had had nice moments with some of the executed generals, asked, "what should I have gained by advising the modalities for their killing? He said he could not find the reasons for the executions from General Hamidu, who later arranged a meeting between the Chairman of the AFRC, Flt Lt Rawlings with some of the Council of Commissioners.

The Witness said the Flt Lt agreed to stop further executions, and after that, a speech was drafted and the Flt Lt Rawlings went on air and declared the end of the executions.