Read Nkrumah’s damning letter to his successor who was also overthrown in a coup

Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966, while he was out of Ghana on a peace mission to Hanoi aimed at bringing an end to the United States intervention in Vietnam. In 24 hours, lower-ranking military officers and police officials led by Colonel E. K. Kotoka, Major A. A. Afrifa and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr J. W. K. Harley had carried out the coup.

They announced the overthrow on state radio and made their reasons clear: to end Nkrumah’s alleged alliance with the Soviet Union and China; alleged corruption, dictatorial practices, oppression; and the introduction of the unpopular preventive detention laws.

Nkrumah was reportedly in disbelief after he was informed of the coup by the leader of the People’s Republic of China, Premier Chou En-lai, during a stop-over in Peking for consultations.

In 1969, Kofi Abrefa Busia, who was an Nkrumah critic, became Prime Minister of Ghana after his political party, the Progress Party won majority of the seats in the parliamentary elections.

He was, however, unable to complete his term after he was also ousted from power in a coup by the army led by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong on January 13, 1972, while he was away in Britain for a medical check-up.

Three days after his overthrow and exile in Britain, Nkrumah wrote Busia a rather damning and sarcastic letter pinpointing government policies and actions that culminated to the latter’s overthrow and further explaining why he has been vindicated.

Read it below:

Source: JSTOR