Businessman and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Sir Sam Jonah, has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to restore the military rank of former Head of State General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, describing its removal before his execution in 1979 as an injustice that needs to be corrected.

He argued that restoring Acheampong’s rank of General would not amount to an endorsement of his administration or disregard the suffering of Ghanaians during his time in power, but would rather address concerns about due process and his military service.

Sir Sam Jonah made the appeal on Friday, November 13, 2026, when he delivered the second edition of the General Kutu Acheampong Public Lecture Series in Accra.

He disclosed that a petition had recently been submitted to President Mahama by the Ambassadors for Reconciliation, Justice and Peace – Africa, a movement established on the UCC campus, calling for the restoration of Acheampong’s military identity.

According to him, Acheampong, who served in the Ghana Armed Forces for more than 20 years, was stripped of his military rank by decree before being executed by firing squad on June 16, 1979, without being convicted by any court.

“A man who had worn his country's uniform for more than twenty years went to his death as Mister,” he said.

While acknowledging the controversies surrounding Acheampong's administration, Sir Sam Jonah maintained that the restoration of his military rank should be considered separately from assessments of his performance as a leader.

“I am not asking anyone to pretend those years were without fault; those who suffered in them are entitled to their memory. But the case for restoring his rank does not rest on whether he was a good ruler. It rests on something simpler.

“In a nation of laws, a soldier's rank, earned over a lifetime of service, is not removed by decree and settled by a firing squad. Due process is not a reward for the virtuous. It is a protection for everyone, and above all for those we have decided we dislike,” he stated.

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

Sir Sam Jonah also referenced the Ghana Armed Forces' 2019 acknowledgement that the executions carried out in 1979 were an aberration, arguing that the decision to strip Acheampong of his rank should similarly be reconsidered.

“In 2019, the Ghana Armed Forces did something that took real institutional courage. Under the words ‘Never Again’, they acknowledged that what was done in 1979 was an aberration. I honour that. But the sentence begun at Burma Camp that day is not yet finished. If the execution was an aberration, then so was the decree that sent him to it stripped of his rank,” he said.

He consequently appealed to President Mahama, the Armed Forces Council and Parliament, where legally required, 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 his military rank.

Sir Sam Jonah said the move would demonstrate Ghana's willingness to confront its history with honesty as the country approaches its 70th anniversary of independence.

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

General Acheampong seized power from the government of then Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia in a military coup on January 13, 1972.

He ruled Ghana until July 5, 1978, when he was removed in a palace coup led by his deputy, General Frederick Akuffo.

Following the June 4, 1979 uprising that brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) to power, Acheampong was executed alongside other former military officers at the Teshie Firing Range on June 16, 1979.

Watch a video of Sam Jonah's remarks below:



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