Democracy Hub, CPP sue to remove Kotoka’s name from KIA

The Social Activist group Democracy Hub, in partnership with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has filed a lawsuit at Ghana’s Supreme Court, calling for the removal of Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka’s name from the country’s international airport.

The group argues that retaining Kotoka’s name on such a significant national monument undermines Ghana’s democratic values, pointing out that Kotoka was a central figure in the 1966 coup d’état that overthrew Ghana’s first democratically elected government.

“For 59 years, Ghana has lived with the contradiction of denouncing coups while honoring one of the masterminds of the first military overthrow of an elected government,” the group declared.

Democracy Hub and the CPP contend that naming the airport after Kotoka, under the General Kotoka Trust Decree of 1969 (NLCD 339), constitutes an endorsement of unconstitutional rule. They believe that removing his name would demonstrate Ghana’s renewed commitment to democratic principles.

“It is time for Ghana to make a definitive statement against unconstitutional rule, not just in words but in action,” the statement added.

The lawsuit, which has the backing of legal experts from Merton & Everett LLP, is supported by comprehensive legal and historical research.

Democracy Hub is urging civil society groups, youth activists, and democracy defenders to support the legal challenge, describing it as “more than a court case—it’s a national reckoning with our history.”

Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, born on 26 September 1926 and killed on 17 April 1967, was a key military officer in the National Liberation Council, which came to power after a military coup on 24 February 1966, overthrowing the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president.