Major-General Barwah, the loyal Nkrumah army chief shot on the spot for refusing to acknowledge 1966 coup

The events that led to the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, involved a number of issues surrounding loyalties and deceit.

On the subject of loyalties, Major-General Charles Mohammed Barwah, is one name that has been celebrated for decades because of his stance in the political turmoil at the time, and the bravery he showed even in the face of death.

According to details from an excerpt of what the Royal Military Academy - Sandhurst (where he trained) wrote about him in 2019, Maj-Gen Barwah was the highest-ranking officer in the Ghana Armed Forces in February 1966 when the mutiny led by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka happened.

With the Chief of Defence Staff also outside the jurisdiction at the time, Barwah, Chief of Army Staff, was the next in line and when the coup happened, he refused to yield or fall in line, as it was.

He was shot on the spot, as detailed by the Royal Military Academy – Sandhurst.

“In February 1966 Nkrumah was encouraged by the US to travel to China and Vietnam to attempt to broker a ceasefire in the Vietnam War. A group of senior officers gathered several hundred soldiers and moved them to Accra telling them that Nkrumah was going to deploy them to fight in Vietnam. Aided by these men, the plotters, under Colonel Emmanuel Kokota, seized the State radio and Presidential Palace.

“The Chief of Defence Staff was abroad at a meeting so the ranking officer was Barwah, by now a Major General and Army Chief of Staff. Barwah refused to acknowledge the coup and professed his loyalty, as a professional soldier, to the Head of State but was shot dead on the spot,” it said.

Today, in honour of his legacies, the Tamale Barracks is named after him; The Barwah Barracks.

Read the full extract from the Royal Military Academy about Major-General Barwah below:

Charles Mohammed Barwah was born at Kumassi in the Gold Coast, a British Colony in West Africa, on 13th April 1929. In 1947 he enlisted into 2nd Battalion, The Gold Coast Regiment, and by 1953 had been promoted to Sergeant…

He became the first native officer cadet from his country to be sent to the post war Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A member of 2 Platoon, Blenheim Company of Intake 13 his College Commander wrote that ‘his powerful physical build emphasises his strength of character.’ Not only did Barwah win the Overseas Cadet prize he was graded fourth in the whole intake of 260.

Barwah rose rapidly through the ranks and, when The Gold Coast became the first British Colony to gain independence in 1957, was earmarked for high command in the army of newly-established Ghana. A great believer in education, Barwah set up a programme for the education of soldiers and their children and frequently acted as an instructor in night classes…

In February 1966 Nkrumah was encouraged by the US to travel to China and Vietnam to attempt to broker a ceasefire in the Vietnam War. A group of senior officers gathered several hundred soldiers and moved them to Accra telling them that Nkrumah was going to deploy them to fight in Vietnam. Aided by these men, the plotters, under Colonel Emmanuel Kokota, seized the State radio and Presidential Palace.

The Chief of Defence Staff was abroad at a meeting so the ranking officer was Barwah, by now a Major General and Army Chief of Staff. Barwah refused to acknowledge the coup and professed his loyalty, as a professional soldier, to the Head of State but was shot dead on the spot.

The level of involvement of the CIA still debated and a staple of conspiracy theorists. Ultimately, the coup succeeded, Nkrumah was deposed and there followed a period of great instability resulting in a further five military coups over the next 15 years. Charles Barwah is now seen as a standard bearer for loyalty and one of the few senior officers of the period untainted by his involvement in politics. Barwah Barracks in Northern Ghana is named in his honour.

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AE