Jerry John Rawlings had a failed military coup in 1979

Veteran journalist and politicians, Elizabeth Ohene, has narrated supposed events that transpired at the home of the late former president, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, during his failed military takeover on May 15, 1979.

In an editorial published on thebftonline.com, Elizabeth Akua Ohene, who indicated she had close relations with Rawlings, said she went to their home after hearing of the failed coup on the radio.

She said that when she got to the home of the Rawlingses, former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was there alone with her newborn baby.

“From the office, I went straight to see how Mrs Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was doing, with her husband, Flt Lt Rawlings, in the news as trying to stage a coup d’état. (She and her husband were friends of mine).

“When I got to their home, she was there alone with her almost one-year-old baby. I stayed with her, and we tried to make sense of the situation facing her,” she wrote.

Elizabeth Ohene, a former chairperson of the board of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and former Minister of State, said that while she was keeping the former First Lady company, some military men came to the house.

After knocking, she wrote that they asked to be allowed in to conduct a search of the premises, which she challenged.

“A knock came at the door, and I went to see to it. I half-opened the door and stuck my head out and saw a man wearing a smock standing on the doorstep. He gave me his name, with a military title rank, showed me an ID, and added that he was there with his colleagues to search the house.

"At that stage, I noticed there were two other men standing some short distance away. I took a deep breath, took in the situation, and came outside wholly, closing the door behind me instead of standing in the halfway-opened door. I asked the officer if he had a search warrant and if I could see it before I let him into the house,” she narrated.

She indicated that, to her surprise, the military heeded her demands and left.

“The officer looked a bit startled, started to say something, changed his mind, turned his face to look at his two colleagues, and then said to me he didn’t have a search warrant. I told him he couldn’t come in to search the place without a warrant.

“He took a deep breath and asked me if I knew what had been happening in the country that day. I said yes, I knew. ‘And you know that the person responsible lives here,’ he said. I nodded and said to him: ‘Please, officer, don’t let us use illegal means to fight illegal activities. You must be on the straight and narrow if you represent the law.’ He stared at me silently, turned around, walked to his colleagues, and they went into their car and drove off,” she added.

The former Minister of State indicated that the military left and later returned as expected, but, to her surprise, they came with a warrant.

She said that she allowed them in, and they professionally carried out the search.

“There was no drama, and I don’t think even the people in the next apartment noticed that there had been any visit from the security services. The search was meticulous but very civilised, and I am not certain about this, but I think when they were about to leave, the officer muttered a ‘thank you’,” she added.

The former SSNIT board chairperson recounted this event while reacting to the raid on the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, by security officials, including military men.

She wondered how security officials could raid the home of a person in this day and age without any warrant when, in the days of a military regime, officers acted professionally.

“In the year of our Lord, 2025, 33 years into the longest stretch of constitutional rule we have ever had, armed soldiers are led by a man of no publicly determined official status into the home of a former finance minister.

“They rudely brush aside the staff, enter the house, and proceed to conduct a hostile and illegal search. They go through kitchen and cutlery drawers, fridges, freezers, cupboards, closets, underneath beds, books, documents, plates, pots and pans, clothes, and linen. They take the car keys and thoroughly ransack the cars, leaving the people in the house thoroughly shaken and traumatised,” she wrote.

Background:

On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), while updating the public on its ongoing investigations at a press conference in Accra, declared Ken Ofori-Atta wanted.

The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, declared Ofori-Atta a fugitive wanted for corruption and corruption-related offences in a number of cases his office was investigating, including the loss reduction contract between ECG and Beijing Jao, procurement over the National Cathedral, contracts awarded by the Health Ministry to Service Ghana Auto Limited/Ambulances, and the SML-GRA deal.

He accused the former minister of orchestrating a recently reported raid of his residence by alleged military personnel to discredit the OSP.

The raid and the wanted notice against Ofori-Atta were heavily debated in Ghana’s Parliament.

Members of the Minority Caucus—New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs—slammed the use of the military to raid Ofori-Atta’s home, while their colleagues in the Majority Caucus argued that the previous NPP government did worse.

The leader of the Minority Caucus, Mahama Ayariga, confirmed that the raid did happen.

The leader of the Majority Caucus subsequently apologised to Ofori-Atta and the public over the raid.

BAI/AE