The social activist group, Democracy Hub, in collaboration with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Court of Ghana, seeking the removal of the name ‘Kotoka’ from Ghana’s International Airport.
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, was a Ghanaian military officer and a member of the National Liberation Movement (NLC), which staged the coup d’etat of 1966. The NLC came into power through the military coup d’etat which was held on 24th February 1966, overthrowing Ghana’s first President of the Republic, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
According to the Democracy Hub and the CPP, using the name of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, as a name for a national monument, undermines the country’s democratic principles, because of the key role he played in the coup that overthrew Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.
They stated, “For 59 years, Ghana has lived with the contradiction of denouncing coups while honouring one of architects of the first military overthrow of an elected government.”
The collaborating groups argued that naming the Kotoka International Airport under the General Kotoka Trust Decree (NLCD 339) is a way of the state sanctioning for the endorsement of an unconstitutional rule. They insist that in removing the name off Ghana’s International Airport will be a step into reaffirming Ghana’s belief in democracy.
In their statement, the group stated, “It is time for Ghana to make a statement that it stands against unconstitutional rule, not just in rhetoric but in practice.” They also called on all youth and social activists, civil society groups, and defenders of democracy to support the legal challenge, mentioning that the legal challenge is “more than a court case, it is a national reckoning with our past.”
There have been countless of conversations spun around the rationale behind naming Ghana’s International Airport after an architect of a coup d’etat. This is one of the many lawsuits brought for the removal of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kotoka’s name on Ghana’s International Airport.
Already, there are hints that the current NDC-led government, who have, on several occasions expressed their disapproval of the name of the country’s international airport, intend to change it to the name of the founding father’s, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Source: Dehotpress
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