Paul Adom-Otchere (L) says Kwame Nkrumah was a ‘despot’ before his overthrow
Renowned broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere defended the military overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which was masterminded by Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka on February 24, 1966.
Speaking during a panel discussion on JoyNews’ NewsFile, Adom-Otchere stated that Ghana’s first president did so many bad things that necessitated his removal by Kotoka.
He claimed that the announced plan of the government to rename the Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport, removing the name of Kotoka, is being masterminded by a group of individuals who want to paint Ghana’s first president as a saint in the eyes of Ghanaians, which he indicated was far from the truth.
He said that the planned removal of the name of Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, after whom the airport was named, forms part of a plan to “restore Nkrumah’s image 100%” before the 60th anniversary of his coup, which falls on February 24, 2026.
He went on to list some of the bad things, which, in his words, made Kwame Nkrumah a “terrible president for Ghana,” as follows:
Nkrumah making himself lifetime president:
He claimed that Kwame Nkrumah made himself the lifetime president of Ghana by amending the Constitution of the country.
“The 1960 Constitution, which Nkrumah put together, which I have in front of me. Nkrumah’s name was buried in the Constitution, Article 10, where it talks about Kwame Nkrumah as president of Ghana.”
Change the constitution to sack judges:
He also asserted that Kwame Nkrumah amended the constitution to allow him to sack justices of the country’s courts without going through the required processes.
“There’s also a bit more… There was an amendment to the 1960 Constitution in 1964, and if you look at the amendment, it will interest you to know that the amendments provided in the 1964 amendment included the fact that Kwame Nkrumah was now able to dismiss judges. Yes, he was able to dismiss judges,” he said.
Change of Ghana’s national flag:
He also claimed that Kwame Nkrumah used the amendment of the Constitution to change the colour of the national flag of Ghana to the colours of his political party, the Convention People’s Party.
Ban on all political parties:
Adom-Otchere also said that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah used the constitution to ban all political parties in 1964.
“Now, there was nowhere else to go, because if you look at the amendment of the Constitution, Nkrumah had made himself a life president, and he had also made CPP the only legitimate party,” he said.
Persecution of political opponents:
The broadcaster also alleged that Kwame Nkrumah used the Preventive Detention Act (PDA), created in 1958, which was initially a good thing, to persecute his political opponents.
“In fact, if you look at the usage of the PDA between 1958, when it was set up, and about 1961, it was minimal. But from 1961 to 1964, the PDA was railroading everywhere, and every home was afraid,” he said.
The broadcaster asserted that the people of Ghana must know that their first president did some very bad things, which forced Kotoka to overthrow him.
“What we would like Ghanaians to see. And at the end of the day, the government will make its decision, and then we will have to decide whether it’s a political decision that we vote on the next time, or whatever we do.
“But we cannot ignore history. We have to make obeisance to history. The history is that from 1960 up to the time Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, he was a despot. He was not good for Ghana; he was terrible for Ghana,” he said.
Watch a video of Adom-Otchere’s remarks below:
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