Do Not Humiliate General Oppong Peprah

The military fraternity has become embroiled in polemics since the release of a document from the Presidency purporting to appoint General Thomas Oppong-Peprah (GH/2217) as the Deputy Head of Mission in Canada.

​Military personnel, especially Commissioned Officers in active service and on retirement, received the appointment with shock and disbelief. A fierce debate is raging on in barracks and outside barracks amongst military personnel, friends and sympathizers of the only surviving Four Star General of the Ghana Armed Forces, General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, as to the propriety or impropriety of the appointment.

​There is the “D’ accord or Pas d’ accord” argument in the offices, messes, homes and at public and private gatherings of military and civilian personnel in all Garrisons, cities, towns and villages across the length and breadth of the country.

​According to a letter from the Presidency dated 11^th September 2025 and signed by Mr. Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, on “Appointment of Deputy Heads of Missions” at serial 5, General Thomas Oppong-Peprah has been appointed by the President as the Deputy Head of Mission for Canada.

No sooner had the letter appeared on the social media platforms than we started receiving calls on it. As a matter of fact, most of the callers were furious with the appointment and felt that it was a humiliation to General Oppong-Peprah.

​With alacrity, we started sampling opinions from serving military personnel, retired military personnel, civilians, and politicians on the appointment of General Thomas Oppong-Peprah as the Deputy High Commissioner for Canada.

​We were overwhelmed with the results as over ninety percent (90%) of the respondents felt that the appointment is a demotion and a humiliation to the status and rank of a Four Star General and a former Chief of Defence Staff, who had also held several appointments such as Service Chief (Chief of Army Staff), Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters, General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Army, Commanding Officer for both the Recce Regiment and 64 Infantry Regiment at various times during his distinguished career as a brilliant and courageous Army Officer.

​According to the respondents, President Mahama is setting a very bad precedent in appointing a former Chief of Defence Staff and a Four Star General as a Deputy Head of Mission AND NOT A HEAD OF MISSION as had been the case of all others and his immediate predecessors. Some of the respondents went to the extent of stating that the President had reluctantly given General Thomas Oppong-Peprah the appointment of Deputy High Commissioner to Canada. In the view of those respondents, the appointment given to General Oppong-Peprah is a trap; (an ambush). He accepts it at his own risk; he declines it to the fury of the President as an ungrateful person. So the polemic: “D’ accord or Pas D’ accord” rages on like a harmattan wildfire in and outside the barracks in all Garrisons of Ghana.

​To buttress their assertions, those who see the appointment of General Thomas Oppong-Peprah as a demotion and a humiliation made references to all previous military officers, especially Generals, who had been appointed Ambassadors and High Commissioners at various times in the past to Missions as the Head.

​Additionally, most of the respondents mentioned the fact that in the annals of the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana has had only THREE (3) Four Star Generals, namely:

1. General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (GH/77), Head of State, Chairman of National Redemption Council and Chairman of Supreme Military Council 1.
2. ​General Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo (GH/137), Head of State and Chairman of Supreme Military Council 2.
3. General Thomas Oppong-Peprah (GH/2217), Immediate past Chief of Defence Staff.

​It was argued that in the cases of Generals IK Acheampong and FWK Akuffo, they earned their promotions when they were Heads of State and Heads of Government during military regimes while General T Oppong-Peprah earned his rank under constitutional rule.

​Both Generals IK Acheampong and FWK Akuffo were executed by firing squad in June 1979 by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council headed by Jerry John Rawlings thus leaving General T Oppong-Peprah as the only Four Star General alive.

​Our research into appointments of military officers as Heads of Mission revealed the following:

1. The first military officer to be appointed as a Head of Mission was Colonel MK Gbagonah (GH/61) of ROST 9. He was appointed as the Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire in the 1970s during the regime of the National Redemption Council (NRC) and retired on 27^th February 1976 when General IK Acheampong was the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
2. ​Air Vice Marshal JEA Kotei (GH/354) of GMA Intake 2 was also appointed as Ghana’s Ambassador to La Côte d’Ivoire during the era of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).in the late 1980s, after his brother Major General REA Kotei had been executed by Rawlings, and retired on 16^th December 1990.
3. ​Brigadier General DLK Klutsey (GH/423) was appointed Ambassador to Liberia in the late 1980s during the era of the Provisional National Defence Council and retired on 10^th May 1990.
4. ​Major General AK Twumasi (GH/346) was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Sierra Leone during the first term of President Rawlings in the early 1990s and retired on 16^th February 1997.
5. ​Brigadier General FA Agyemfra (GH/420) was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Liberia during the second term of President Rawlings and was retired from the Ghana Armed Forces on 19^th May 2000.
6. ​Major General Francis Yahaya Mahama (GH/982) was appointed as Ghana’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation by President JA Kufuor in 2001. He had been the GOC Southern Command of the Ghana Army before his diplomatic appointment.
7. ​Lieutenant General Benjamin Kojo Akafia (GH/570), who was the last Chief of Defence Staff under the second term of President Rawlings, was appointed Ambassador to Egypt by President JA Kufuor. He had been an Army Commander, Brigade Commander and a Commanding Officer of the 3^rd Battalion
8. Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng (GH/819), the first Chief of Defence Staff under President Kufuor was nominated for appointment as a Head of Mission in 2005 by President Kufuor but he declined the offer.
9. ​Major General CB Yaache (GH/1078), the first Chief of Army Staff of President Kufuor, was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Mali in 2005 after he had been replaced by Major General Samuel Anum Odotei (GH/1368) as Chief of Army Staff.
10. ​Rear Admiral JK Gbenah (GH/1135), the first Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal EA Mantey (GH/1227), the first Chief of Air Staff respectively under President Kufuor, were appointed Heads of some of Ghana’s diplomatic Missions in 2005 under President JA Kufuor.
11. ​Major General Fran Adu-Amanfoh (GH/1264) was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Liberia in 2008 by President JA Kufuor. Before that appointment, Major General Adu-Amanfoh was the Chief Defence Intelligence at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces.
12. ​In 2009, Major General Samuel Anum Odotei (GH/1368) was appointed by President Mills as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Namibia. Major General Odotei had been the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters and Commanding Officer 5^th Battalion of Infantry during his distinguished military career.
13. ​In 2013, President John Mahama appointed Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay (GH/1398) as Ghana’s Ambassador to La Cote d’Ivoire. Lt Gen PA Blay had been appointed the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces by President John Mills in March 2009. General PA Blay was the Defence Advisor to the Federal Republic of Nigeria before he was recalled to become the Chief of Defence Staff. He had been the Acting Chief of Staff and Director General Personnel Administration at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces before assuming duties in Nigeria as a Defence Advisor.
14. ​Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa (GH/1671) was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to Egypt in 2021 by President Nana Akufo-Addo. Lt Gen OB Akwa was appointed the Chief of Defence Staff by President Akufo-Addo on 9^th February 2017 to replace Air Marshal Michael Samson-Oje (GH/1779). Gen OB Akwa had held the appointments of Chief of Army Staff, Commandant MATS, ADC to President JA Kufuor, Commanding Officer 2^nd Battalion of Infantry and Military Assistant to Defence Minister Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor during his distinguished military career.
15. ​In 2024, President Akufo-Addo appointed Vice Admiral Seth Amoama (GH/2157) as Ghana’s High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the sudden death of Rashid Bawa, the incumbent High Commissioner. Admiral Seth Amoama had held the positions of Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, Chief of Naval Staff and Commandant Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College during his distinguished military career.

​It is clear from the above that a Colonel and all the Generals (one star, two star and three star) had been appointed as Head of Missions (Ambassadors or High Commissioners) by the various Heads of State and Government from General IK Acheampong through Jerry Rawlings, Presidents John Kufuor, John Mills and John Mahama to Nana Akufo-Addo.

The interesting revelation of all these appointments is that President Mahama in 2013 after replacing General PA Blay as the Chief of Defence Staff with Admiral Matthew Quashie (GH/1509), appointed General Blay as the Ambassador to La Cote d’Ivoire but NOT AS DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION TO CANADA or any other country.

​Perhaps because General PA Blay had at all times demonstrated his loyalty to the PNDC and NDC needed to be accorded the commensurate respect that all previous Chiefs of Defence Staff had been given. Thus, his appointment as Head of Mission in Ivory Coast.

​Notwithstanding the number of years of loyal service to the PNDC/NDC and NPP Administrations of Chairman/President Rawlings, Presidents John Kufuor, John Mills, John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo by General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, President Mahama, shockingly, surprisingly but maliciously found the ONLY FOUR STAR GENERAL ALIVE unsuitable for appointment as Head of Mission.

Without mincing words we dare say that the appointment of General T Oppong-Peprah as the Deputy High Commissioner to Canada is the greatest disrespect that the President has shown to a distinguished professional military General and the Ghana Armed Forces. No Head of State or Government has revealed such a hatred, disrespect and nonchalance in the appointment of such a great distinguished, unique military officer of exceptional abilities, skills, knowledge, competence and experience as President Mahama has done to General Thomas Oppong-Peprah.

​Most of the respondents of our research are emphatically calling on General Oppong-Peprah to politely thank President Mahama for the demotion and humiliation and decline the offer. They want General Oppong-Peprah to maintain his dignity.

The precedent had been set by General Seth Kofi Obeng in 2005, when he politely declined the offer by President John Kufuor to be the Head of a Mission. If General SK Obeng, a three-star General, former Chief of Defence Staff, former Force Commander UNIFIL, former Chief of Staff Ghana Armed Forces and former Defence Attaché to the United Kingdom, among other appointments, was able to decline the offer of Head of Mission, so should General Thomas Oppong-Peprah be bold to politely decline the humiliating appointment of Deputy Head of Mission to Canada.

​The President should not be allowed to show such disrespect and hatred for General Oppong-Peprah. General Oppong-Peprah should remember that he represents a very powerful constituency of the military fraternity. Military posterity will not be kind at all to him if General Oppong-Peprah accepts this disgraceful offer by President Mahama.

​Military officers have held key positions in colonial and post-independence Ghana. Military officers in other jurisdictions have also held very key positions in governance and public institutions. Military officers with the ranks of Captain have been Governors during the colonial era. Several military officers have held positions of Head of State and Government in Ghana, West Africa, Africa, Asia, Latin America and even in Europe. They include the Sankaras, Eyademas, Guehis, Kerekous, Obasanjos, Murtalas, Strassers, Yahaya Jamels, Mubaraks, Does, Blaise Compares, Mobutus and Iddi Amins among others.

In Ghana, we can start with the National Liberation Council (NLC) when Generals JA Ankrah (GH/3), AK Ocran (GH/15), EK Kotoka (GH/14), and A.A. Afrifa (GH/136) wielded executive and legislative powers as chairmen and members of the National Liberation Council.

We could continue with the National Redemption Council (NRC) and the Supreme Military Councils (1& 2) when we had Generals Acheampong, Akuffo, JM Hamidu (GH/98), LA Okai (GH/21), NYR Ashley-Larsen (GH/34), REA Kotei (GH/139), NA Odartey-Wellington (GH/308), K Osei -Boateng (GH/390), E Sam (GH/236) and EK Utuka (GH/220).

Furthermore, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) with junior officers and junior ranks dominating in membership, ruled Ghana briefly between June and September 1979. The likes of Jerry Rawlings, then Captains Boakye Djan (GH/1253), Baah Achamfour (GH/1088) YA Mensah-Poku (GH/1095) and Lance Corporals Ansah Atiemo and Peter Tasiri among others, exercised executive and legislative functions in Ghana.

Again, between 31^st December 1981 and 6^th January 1993, several military officers were members or appointees of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). The likes of Captain Kojo Tsikata (GH/83) (Retired)  Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (Retired) (GH/512), then Brigadier General and later Lieutenant General Arnold Quainoo (GH/477) and then Brigadier General and later Lieutenant General WM Mensah-Wood (GH/560) among others, held executive and legislative powers as members of the PNDC under the chairmanship of Jerry Rawlings.

The military officers who were appointed Ambassadors and High Commissioners served under distinguished foreign Ministers such as Dr. Obed Asamoah, Mr Victor Gbeho, Honorables Hackman Owusu Agyemang and Nana Akufo Addo.