Reflections; the Komla Gbedemah story from an alternative lens (part 1)

This is a declassified CIA document from 1964, suggesting Komla Gbedemah, a Ghanaian politician and former Finance Minister under Kwame Nkrumah, was involved in the 1966 coup that overthrew Nkrumah, Ghana’s first prime minister and president.

Komla Gbedemah was a key figure in Ghana’s independence movement, co-founding the Convention People’s Party with Nkrumah and serving as a minister, but he fled Ghana in 1962 amid political tensions.

The 1966 coup against Nkrumah has long been speculated to involve U.S. intelligence. Declassified documents hint at American awareness and potential support for the overthrow, consistent with Cold War-era U.S. policies against socialist leaders like Nkrumah.

Apart from minor editing, the document remains in its authentic text.

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Winneba, Ghana DECEMBER 1964

THE TRUTH ABOUT KOMLA GBEDEMAH By A NON-GHANAIAN INTELLECTUAL

As an agent of the American Central Intelligence Agency, Gbedemah planned for the launching of a coup d’etat with Busia’s defunct United Party and has been in link with reactionary elements outside Ghana.

A pamphlet first published in French and translated into English makes these and many more startling revelations. The name of the writer, a non-Ghanaian intellectual, has been kept secret for security reasons.

National revolutions are like ocean storms. They throw up towering waves with snowy crests. These are the true revolutionaries, sincere patriots and historic leaders, such as Nasser, Ben Bella and Nkrumah. But they also bring to the surface dirt and debris which a calm sea conceals. These are the flotsam and jetsam of human society, people without ideals or principles, whose only interest in the revolutions is to satisfy their ambition, thirst for power and greed for wealth. More often than not, they end in complete moral debacle and betrayal of the ideals of their people which are alien to them. Unfortunately, like all flotsam and jetsam, they do not sink at once. These people are very dangerous because they are difficult to expose.

A man’s head is not a pawpaw fruit. One cannot break it to see the thoughts inside it. And such people hide their thoughts behind the front of lofty words. They. more than others shout about freedom, independence, the well-being of the people and even the struggle against colonialism. In words they defend socialism while in deeds they are out to consolidate the positions of reaction, and strengthen their personal well-being.

They never act in the open. Once they are exposed, they flee abroad, where they throw off the mask: they send agents to their country, hatch plots, and commit other acts of terrorism. And all that for money and power, for power and money. This pamphlet deals with one of such traitors to the national cause.

The False Impression

He has simple and charming manners and can win friends amongst whoever he talks to by his ability to listen very attentively without interrupting his interlocutor or forcing on the latter his own opinions. When you meet him for the first time you gain an impression that Mr. Gbedemah is a frank person with gentle manners, with almost correct features, and an upright bearing. Only an experienced and attentive eye will see that for a modicum of time his face suddenly changes and cunning and treachery, evil and contempt run through it. But that only for a fraction of a second and then again-the sweet smile, politeness and even kindness emanate from this man who has become the leader of the plot against the Republic of Ghana.

Political Business

Gbedemah has never been marked for any mental ability. From early childhood he had been imbibing the odour medicines and heard pharmaceutical talk (his father was an apothecary in Nigeria). However, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah failed at the entrance examination at a medical school where he tried to go after graduating from the Achimota College. So he chose the field less complicated than science. He founded a candy factory with the assistance of his father. He was far more successful in this field.

However, the rising profits whetted the appetite of the young capitalist and he felt a longing for big business. After establishing contacts with business circles he went with their help into lumber trade and railway shipments in the Gold Coast. Gbedemah did not lack political feeling. When the nationalist movement at the Gold Coast became stronger Gbedemah understood that this movement could be used for his own purpose. By the time Dr. Nkrumah arrived in Accra in December, 1947, Gbedemah was already an active member of the youth movement and a trusted man amongst the nationalists. It was extremely important for him to become a ” trusted man ” since this is a basis for any shameless career-seeker and grabber.

Rather by feeling than by understanding Gbedemah realised that Nkrumah was the most probable premier of the Gold Coast, and he went out of his way to become close to him. He was very helpful in establishing the Accra Evening News paper, arranged meetings of the nationalist youth in his flat and even supported Nkrumah when the latter criticised the indecisive conduct of the leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention, and founded instead the Convention People’s Party.

In the new Party Gbedemah became a member of the Central Committee and later the Party’s Vice-Chairman. The future seemed so bright to Gbedemah that he sold his business and invested quite a tidy sum in one of the Geneva banks. He saw himself as at least holding the post of Vice-Premier in the future government of the Gold Coast and began to look for contacts among British representatives dropping very transparent hints to the effect that quite soon they might be dealing with him as a member of the future Cabinet and a man who is a smooth operator in every respect.

” The Prison Graduate ”

The British are good experts at planting their agents’ in the governments of other countries. DEC 1964 Placing their stakes on Gbedemah, they decided to create a false nationalistic nimbus around him. With that aim in view, they put him in prison in 1949 for “trying to instigate a rebellion”.

We do not know the contents of the conversations held by the representatives of the British authorities with Gbedemah in prison. What is known for certain is that very soon Gbedemah was set free. On the day of his release from prison the headquarters of the Convention People’s Party was raided by the police while Nkrumah and other leaders of the Party were arrested. Since that time Gbedemah calls himself a “prison graduate”.

In Nkrumah’s absence, he became leader of the Convention People’s Party, head of its printed organ-the Accra Evening News, and carried out preparations for municipal elections. It was very strange that in those stormy and dangerous times everything went on so smoothly with Gbedemah. It was literally before the very eyes of the British authorities that Gbedemah carried on his work for which other people would have paid with their lives while he, Gbedemah, remained unscathed. He even managed to organise regular correspondence with Nkrumah who was then languishing in prison and who thought at the time that only he and Gbedemah were in on it.

The British counted on a very simple thing: they wanted to remove Nkrumah in whom they saw a dangerous enemy who did not wish to come to any compromise and create the seeming of independence in the form of a self-governing colony under the supervision of a governor.

In this farce the “prison graduate” was assigned the post of premier of the ephemeral Gold Coast Government. The intelligence service supported this plan and gave him a loyalty certificate. The British authorities did not interfere with Gbedemah’s activities and were by no means abashed when the Convention People’s Party won at the municipal elections in 1950. They thought that everything was under control and that nothing unexpected could ever happen.