Certain surreptitious intentions of the military security’s publication of 28th April 2025 are very disturbing, dangerous and unprecedented hence its accolade as “the mother, grandmother, great grand mother of all KOKUFU PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS IN THE GHANA ARMED FORCES.
When Generals W Agyapong and LK Gbetanu combine their forces with the Sammy Gyamfis and the hawks in the NDC, the results are always aimed at persecuting and prosecuting Akan officers, especially Asantes, and other and other non-Akan officers suspected, perceived or observed to have served in any sensitive position in the NPP Administration of Nana Addo.
That explains why Sammy Gyamfi could not be bothered about the termination of appointment and retirement of the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Oppong-Peprah. General Oppong-Peprah is the only distinguished Army Officer to have risen to the rank of full four-star General in a professional way. As a matter of fact, General Oppong-Peprah is the third General in Ghana’s history. The first Ghanaian four-star General was the late Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (GH/77). He became a four-star General when he re-organized his military ruling Council. On January 13, 1972, when then Colonel Acheampong overthrew the government of Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia and the Progress Party, he formed the National Redemption Council (NRC) with a lot of officers with the rank of Major or equivalent.
A few of the members of the NRC were Majors Selormey, Agbo, Asante and Baah.
The NRC was both the Executive and the Legislature of Ghana. The ranks of the Head of State, Colonel IK Acheampong and members, Majors, were incongruous as the CDS, Service Chiefs, Chief of Staff, Brigade and other Formation Commanders and Commandants of the Training Schools were higher. A new creature-the Supreme Military Council-was thus formed to become the Executive and Legislature. The Head of State was then promoted to the rank of a four-star General to chair the council with the CDS, Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) as members. Remember that at the time, the Ghana Police was referred to as a Force (Ghana Police Force).
When General IK Acheampong was overthrown in 1978 in a “Palace Coup”, then CDS, Lieutenant General Fredrick William Kwasi Akuffo (GH/137) was promoted to the rank of a four-star General to chair the Supreme Military Council II as the Head of State and government of Ghana.
Since the death of Generals IK Acheampong and FWK Akuffo, in June 1979, the only time a Ghanaian military officer has been promoted to the rank of General was in January 2025 (45 years, 6 months and 9 days later). Yet, Sammy Gyamfi warned and ensured that the military careers of General Oppong-Peprah and others were coterminous with that of President Akufo-Addo.
Sammy Gyamfi could not protect “his own” (General Oppong-Peprah) but with alacrity joined his politically correct NDC hawks in and outside the military to appoint and promote officers of other ethnic groups to capture all the commanding heights of the Ghana Armed Forces. It is alleged that the persecution and prosecution of Asantes is a deliberate strategy with the direct and indirect support of Sammy Gyamfi, some prominent chiefs and hawks in the NDC Party and administration.
General Oppong-Peprah whose date of birth is 14th November 1963 is being retired at the age of 62 years when the Armed Forces Regulations put the compulsory retiring age of Lieutenant Generals at 65 years.
While General Oppong-Peprah and other Akan officers, especially Asantes, are being persecuted in preparation for their prosecution, Generals Agyapong and Gbetanu are positioning their tribesmen for promotion to two star Generals as per the Military Secretary’s publication of 28th April 2025. The promotions and persecutions are being done simultaneously in a very surreptitious manner.
Most of the positions and appointments that were held by two-star Generals in a more diversified way have now been given mainly to officers of only one major ethnic group. For the avoidance of any doubt, please analyze the following:
- Major General EW Kotia (GH/2222) from UER- Commissioner General, Ghana Boundary Commission has been retired and his appointment given to Brigadier General Anthony Ntem (GH/2434) from the Volta Region
- Major General Michael Ayisi Amoah (GH/2279) from Eastern Region – Joint Task Force Commander, Operation Koudanlguo, has been retired and his appointment given to Brigadier General Winfried Dzandu Hedidor (GH/2435) from the Volta Region
- Major General Abraham Yeboah Nsiah (GH/2277) from Ashanti Region –Chief of Defence Intelligence has been retired and his appointment given to Brigadier General Stephen Woseadwokpo Kweku Parbey (GH/2554) from the Volta Region
- Major General Charles Agyemang-Prempeh (GH/2432) from Ashanti Region – Commandant, Ghana Miitary Academy has been retired and his appointment given to Brigadier General Cornelius Kobla Lithur (GH/2502) from the Volta Region
These appointments, together with others, such as the Formation Commanders of the Army, Directors General at General Headquarters, Directors at Service Headquarters, Commanding Officers of Regiments, Battalions, Units, Combat Teams and equivalents in the Navy and Airforce have been strategically earmarked and/or given to officers from certain stronghold regions and ethnic groups of the NDC. These appointments have become sources of concern in the Ghana Armed Forces.
Another appointment that has raised eyebrows in the Armed Forces is that of the Commanding Officer Forces Pay Regiment. Colonel Miki Adusei Nkrumah (GH/3057) was appointed the Commanding Officer Forces Pay Regiment on 13th February 2024 and thus served only one year of a possible three – year tenure but was directed to give way to a more politically correct officer from the preferred Region of the NDC. Thus Colonel Rowland Yao Deegbe (GH/3070) of Regular Career Course 41 same as Colonel MA Nkrumah, has been directed by the MS publication of 28th April 2028 to take over, and indeed has taken over, from Colonel MA Nkrumah. Obviously in the current NDC Administration, an officer with Asante roots cannot be trusted to hold the funds of the Ghana Armed Forces.
As if that were not enough, Generals William Agyapong and LK Gbetanu have combined their forces to promote their brother-in-law, Colonel Kweku Yankson (GH/2827) to the rank of Brigadier General while he is on foreign Duties as Deputy Military Adviser at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York.
Brigadier General K. Yankson, with NDC roots from the Central Region, is fortunate to have a wife from the Volta Region. The intentions of Generals Agyapong and Gbetanu are very clear. They have promoted Colonel Yankson to the rank of Brigadier General with retrospective effect from 24th December 2024 even though the authority for his promotion is the Military Secretary Publication dated 28th April 2025.
The obvious question is: what motivated Colonel Yankson’s promotion to Brigadier General with retrospective effect from 24th December, 2024 when the NDC was not in power?
The answer is very simple. Brigadier General Kweku Yankson is the NDC preferred Defence Financial Controller (DFC) of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current incumbent DFC is a Northerner but not seen as politically correct from the NDC spectacles.
Brigadier General Salifu Osmanu (GH/2808) was appointed the DFC on 19th August 2024 and promoted Brigadier General on 24th December 2024. That explains why Brigadier General Kweku Yankson’s promotion was given a retrospective seniority date of 24th December 2024 so that he would be at par with Brigadier General Salifu Osumanu.
A special alliance had been struck between General W. Agyapong, the current CDS and Brigadier General Kweku Yankson while they were both at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. General W. Agyapong assumed duties as the Military Adviser at UN Headquarters New York on 1st September, 2023 while then Colonel Kweku Yankson also assumed duties as Deputy Military Advisor at UN Headquarters in New York on 9th December, 2023.
The intention of Generals Agyapong and Glbetanu is to push Brigadier General Salifu Osumanu to the Ministry of Defence to take over from Brigadier General Daniel Kofi Amissah (GH/2437), the immediate past DFC who is the current Representative of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) at the Ministry of Defense. That will pave the smooth way for Brigadier General Kweku Yankson to take over as the Defence Financial Controller of the Ghana Armed Forces.
With their Kinsman, (Nyebro) Colonel RY Deegbe at Forces Pay Regiment and their brother-in-law Brigadier General K. Yankson as the Defence Financial Controller, Generals Agyapong and Gbetanu will feel more secured with their finances and financial matters.
These are well thought through strategic and high-level positioning of human resources for maximum returns, most effective and efficient control of finances for the mutual benefit of the NDC and its members within and outside the Ghana Armed Forces.
Two other appointments of concern after the publication of the Military Secretary on 28th April 2025 are the appointments of Commanding Officers for the 69 Airborne Force (ABF) in Tamale and the Defence Mechanical Transport Battalion in Burma Camp.
Former Lieutenant Colonel, but now Colonel Louis Boakye (GH/3190) was the Commanding Officer of the 69 ABF until 28th April 2025. He was one of the Asante officers originally earmarked for persecution and prosecution because of their alleged support for or perceived inclination towards the former NPP Administration because they were given command over troops in that era. When the issues of other Asante officers in command, who were slated for external peace support operations came up in our publications, the Army Headquarters quickly sent a Message in the form of Warning Order to the 69 Airborne Force with copies to all Departments of the General Headquarters, Service Headquarters, Bases, Units and Sub-Units of the Ghana Armed Forces deliberately appointing Lt Col Louis Boakye as the Commanding Officer of Ghana Battalion (Ghanbatt) 92 of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Generals Agyapong and Gbetanu knew very well that the message was a farce and that was to mitigate the effects and scope of the persecution of the Asante military officers in command positions in the Ghana Armed Forces. The two Generals and their cohorts had vowed not to allow any Asante officer appointed by the NPP Administration to go on any peace support operations. Yet the Army Headquarters under the directives of Major General LK Gbetanu as a decoy, deliberately sent the “Warning Order” out to the entire Ghana Armed Forces.
The message read as follows:
OP SUNRISE II – UNIFIL PD WARNING ORDER PD RELIEF OF UNIFIL GHANABATT 91 PD UNIFIL GHANABATT 92 RELIEVE UNIFIL GHANBATT 91 IN SEPTEMBER 2025 PD NO MOVEMENT BEFORE SEPTEMBER 2025 PD COMMANDING OFFICER UNIFIL GHANBATT 92 COMM LIEUTENANT COLONEL LOUIS BOAKYE (GH/3190) PD GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW PD PLEASE ACCEPT FOR ACTION.
The Reference Number of the message was G3-PSO/295 with internal Distribution to the Army Secretary, Army Headquarters (Camp) and Army Headquarters (PSC).
With these assurances Col L Boakye’s hopes were dashed when the MS publication of 28th April promoted him to the rank of Colonel and appointed him as Chief G2 (Training) at Army Headquarters with effect from 25th April 2025, the day that the President condescended to the status of Vice President, chaired the meeting of the Armed Forces Council, recommended to himself and approved the mother, grandmother and great grandmother of all KOKOFU PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS in the history of the Ghana Armed Forces .
As was to be expected, the appointment of the Commanding Officer 69 Airborne Force has been given to Lieutenant Colonel Evans Yaw Mensah Komedjah (GH/3285). The intentions of Generals Agyapong and Gbetanu are very clear when it comes to removing Asante officers and replacing them with officers from the Volta Region. Officers from the Volta Region are deemed to be NDC faithfuls and are therefore preferred to their colleagues from the Ashanti Region who are also presumed to be sympathizers of the NPP and therefore politically incorrect and unsuitable for command appointments in or outside Ghana under the current Military High Command and NDC Administration.
We may wish to advise the current members of the Military High Command, especially the Chief of Defence Staff, to be wary of the dangers of ethnocentrism in the Ghana Armed Forces. The unity of purpose, cohesion, teamwork, esprit de corps and high morale in the Ghana Armed Forces must be maintained and enhanced at all times. The current developments in the Ghana Armed Forces where deliberate and concerted efforts are being made to persecute and prosecute Akan officers, especially Asantes, and non-Akan officers suspected or perceived to be sympathizers of, affiliated to or to have worked for NPP Administration are dangerous and must be stopped immediately.
It is now crystal clear that the Ghana Armed Forces are back to the dark days of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) when officers and men were categorized into “Revolutionary” and “Reactionary”; “For” and “Against” persons. Officers and men now fear one another. That situation is not good and healthy for the Ghana Armed Forces. It is also bad for our democracy, national cohesion and professional development. Promotions and appointments are now no longer based on competence, merit and professionalism but more importantly on political perception and ethnicity.
The Military High Command is respectfully asked to take immediate corrective actions to promote a sense of unity, security of tenure, camaraderie, teamwork, togetherness and national cohesion in the Ghana Armed Forces as a national institution.
Shalom
