Sir Sam Jonah appeals to Mahama for restoration of Acheampong's military rank of General

Renowned businessman and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Sir Sam Jonah, has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama, the Armed Forces Council and Parliament to restore the military rank of General to former Head of State Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, describing its removal before his execution in 1979 as unjust.

He argued that Acheampong's military title, honours and pension were withdrawn through a decree before he was executed without trial on June 16, 1979, insisting that restoring his rank should be treated as a matter of justice and due process rather than an endorsement of his leadership.

Speaking at the second edition of a lecture held in honour of Acheampong's legacy on Friday, November 13, 2026, Sir Sam Jonah said the former Head of State was executed at the Teshie Firing Range without being convicted by any court.

He recalled that Acheampong went to his death as a former president without his military rank because the military council had stripped him of the title before his execution.

“Acheampong was stripped of his rank by decree. He was shot without trial. No court convicted him of anything. A man who had worn his country’s uniform for more than 20 years went to his death as an ordinary Mister,” Sir Sam Jonah said.

While acknowledging that Acheampong's period in power was controversial and that people who suffered under his administration had legitimate reasons to remember those experiences, he maintained that the question of restoring his military rank should be considered separately from assessments of his political record.

“But the case for restoring his rank does not rest on whether he was a good ruler. It rests on something far simpler. In a nation of laws, a soldier’s rank and a lifetime of service is not removed by decree and settled by firing squad,” he said.

Sir Sam Jonah stressed that the principle of due process must apply to everyone, irrespective of their political history or public perception.

“Due process is not a reward for the virtuous. It is a protection for all of us and above all for those whom we have decided to even dislike,” he stated.

He also questioned why Acheampong remained the only former military Head of State executed in 1979 whose military title was not recognised, while other officers who suffered the same fate continued to be remembered by their ranks.

“Every other soldier who has led this Republic, including the two, faced the same firing squad 10 days after him, is remembered by his title. Only one is Mister. That is not history, ladies and gentlemen. It is an unhealed wound with a filing number,” he said.

To strengthen his argument, Sir Sam Jonah referred to the Ghana Armed Forces' 2019 acknowledgement that the executions carried out in 1979 were an aberration.

He argued that the decree which stripped Acheampong of his military rank should also be reviewed in light of that acknowledgement.

Sir Sam Jonah further disclosed that he was lending his support to a petition recently submitted to President Mahama by the Ambassadors for Reconciliation, Justice and Peace Africa, a movement established on the University of Cape Coast campus.

He called on the President, the Armed Forces Council and Parliament, within their respective legal mandates, to take steps to restore Acheampong's rank of General, reinstate his name on the rolls of the Ghana Military Academy and return to his family the honours associated with the rank.

“Restoring a rank does not rewrite history. It completes it,” he added.

He maintained that addressing the matter would enable Ghana to confront its historical experiences more fully as the country approaches the 70th anniversary of independence.