Joachim Amartey Quaye

Joachim Amartey Quaye was a Ghanaian politician. He was found guilty for involvement in the murder of four Ghanaian citizens and executed by a firing squad in 1982.

Joachim Amartey Quaye
Member of the Provisional National Defence Council
In office
11 January 1982 – 1992
PresidentJerry Rawlings
(Head of state)
Personal details
BornGhana
DiedAugust 1982
Nsawam, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
OccupationPolitician

Politics

Amartey Quaye was one of the original seven members of the Provisional National Defence Council appointed after the military overthrow of the Limann government of the Third Republic of Ghana.[1][2]

Murder of judges

During the hours of a night time curfew in force on 30 June 1982, three judges, Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, Fred Poku Sarkodee and Cecilia Koranteng-Addow and a retired army officer Major Sam Acquah were abducted from their homes. Their charred bodies were found on 3 July 1982 at the Bundase Military Range, 50 kilometers from Accra.[3] They had been murdered. All four had adjudicated on cases in which they had ordered the release of persons who had been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, during the rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) which had also been led by Jerry Rawlings in 1979. Following intense pressure on the PNDC government, a Special Investigation Board (SIB) was formed to investigate the murders. A former Chief Justice of Ghana, Samuel Azu Crabbe was appointed the Chairman of the SIB.[4] Their work led to the recommendation that ten persons including two members of the PNDC, Amartey Quaye and Daniel Alolga Akata Pore be prosecuted. A third, a retired army captain, Kojo Tsikata, was a PNDC Special Advisor and Head of National Security. The names of Kojo Tsikata and Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings came up amidst suggestions that they had had some involvement in the murder plot.[5] One Chris Asher, alleged during a sitting of the National Reconciliation Commission in 2004 that Amedeka had admitted to him that the murders were ordered by Tsikata[6]

Trial and execution

Amartey Quaye and four others, namely Lance Corporal Amedeka, Michael Senyah, Tekpor Hekli and Johnny Dzandu eventually faced trial and were convicted. They were held at the Nsawam Prison until their execution by a firing squad. Squadron Leader George Tagoe, a former Ghana Air Force officer and a former AFRC prisoner as well, also reported during the sitting of the National Reconciliation Commission that Amartey Quaye had admitted to him while they were in prison that Jerry Rawlings, who was then Chairman of the AFRC and Kojo Tsikata were involved in the killing of the judges.[7] Rawlings tried to clear allegations of a cover up, in his own way by apparently attempting to extract confessions just prior to Amartey Quaye's execution. The execution was carried out by a firing squad at a shooting range, "near John Teye Memorial School near Nsawam".[8]

References
  1. "Chapter 2— Ghana in Economic Crisis - The 1983 Budget Announcement". The Politics of Reform in Ghana, 1982–1991. University of California Press. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  2. "The Rawlings Revolution". GhanaDistricts.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  3. "Tsikata denies his complicity in Judges' murder". General news. Ghana Home Page. 7 July 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  4. "Review of Petitions" (PDF). The National Reconciliation Commission Report Volume 4 Part 2 Chapter 8. Ghana government. October 2004. p. 142. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  5. "Stage-Managed Public Criminal Trials in Ghana: Are They Justice Delivered?". Feature Article. ModernGhana.com. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  6. "Capt Tsikata issued operational pass for abduction of Judges - Asher". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 June 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  7. "Amartey-Kwei mentioned Rawlings and Tsikata as masterminds of murder". General news. Ghana Home Page. 28 June 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  8. "Riad, Rawlings & Kwei's Last Moments". General news. ModernGhana.com. 5 July 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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