Retired Major Patrick Adjei-Ampofo, former Military Assistant to General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, has recounted spending a year in detention after the 1978 palace coup and described the chaotic final hours leading to his boss’s removal.

In an interview with broadcaster Kafui Dey, sighted by GhanaWeb on September 4, 2026, Adjei-Ampofo offered a vivid recollection of the tense hours leading up to the overthrow of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.

He described how the coup unfolded with meticulous planning, noting that Acheampong had insisted on going to work despite warnings from his close aides.

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According to him, the military plotters had already devised strategies to force the Head of State to resign, and the atmosphere in Accra was charged with uncertainty and fear.

“When we were overthrown, I was initially incarcerated at Michel Camp. I spent a year in detention. The last time I saw him was the day before he was overthrown. When he was overthrown, he was taken across to the Akosombo Dam area; there’s a chalet there. I went straight to Akuffo's office that morning. I didn’t know he had gone to work, because we had planned that he shouldn’t go to work," he narrated.

"And then on Wednesday, there was a meeting; we would arrest them. We had a contingency, a lot of planning. We had our own plan. So he was very confident that it would work. But he went to work without me.”

"...So that day, he usually goes to the Ministry of Defence first and spends a couple of hours there. And then they came to him. They had planned it; they were going to force him to sign a resignation letter. I said he shouldn’t go to work, but he went without me," Adjei-Ampofo added.

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He further claimed that Acheampong asked for a few minutes to reflect before complying.

According to Adjei-Ampofo, the general then dispatched his ADC to look for him, but at the time, he was hiding in Job 600, fearing for his own safety.

"And then they came on my blind side, and they forced him to sign the declaration. And he said, “OK, give me a couple of minutes to think it over.” And they left. That is when he sent the ADC to come and look for me. And I was hiding in Job 600," he disclosed.

Adjei-Ampofo also revealed that he had stopped sleeping at home because his life was constantly in danger. Each morning, he would call his family to check if they were safe, often reassured by the absence of overnight trouble.

"Throughout all this period, I wasn’t sleeping at home because my life was also in danger. I was always in danger. So in the morning, when I called home and I said everything was all right, I didn’t hear any trouble during the night. So I assumed that everything was all right," Adjei-Ampofo said.

He recalled that chiefs had visited his residence to meet Acheampong, prompting him to later head to the general’s home.

On arrival, he found groups of people gathered quietly, including Acheampong’s wife.

"And they said some chiefs were at my house to see Acheampong. So I went and listened to them. Then I said I was going to see Acheampong because I knew he was at home. And then when I got near the house, I saw people standing in groups."

"...I saw Mrs Acheampong also standing there quietly with the group. And I said, “Madam, why are you all standing here like this?” She said, “Come in here. Haven’t you heard? Papa has been deposed. He has resigned,” he concluded.

Watch a video of his narration here.

I spent a year in DETENTION when General Acheampong was overthrown in the Palace Coup - Major Patrick Adjei-Ampofo, Military Assistant to Acheampong

Watch full interview here https://t.co/wZ70mgVrAF pic.twitter.com/2tUfVIg1W4

— Kafui Dey (@KafuiDey) September 3, 2026