77th February 28 Christiansborg crossroad shooting marked

The government has commemorated the 77th anniversary of the February 28 Christiansborg crossroad shooting incident at a ceremony in Accra.

The ceremony was in honour of the ex-service men who were killed in 1948 by the colonial police while the old soldiers were marching peacefully to the Osu castle to present a petition to the then Governor, Sir Gerald Creasy.

It was organised at the Nationalism Park, near the Independence Square.

Also present were some statesmen, the people of Osu, and leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces and sister security agencies.

There was a contingent of GAF and the Ghana Police Service, including veterans, who marched to the venue to begin the anniversary celebration.

In attendance were the Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the Minister for the Interior; Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, and the Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah.

Highlights of the event included a flag raising ceremony, where three flags were raised and five wreaths were laid in memory of the departed veterans.

Activity

The Vice-President laid the first wreath on behalf of the government and the people of Ghana.

The second wreath was laid by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Thomas Oppong Peprah, on behalf of the Ghana Armed Forces and other Security Services.

The third was laid by the Immediate past Board Chairman of the Veterans Administration of Ghana, Major General Clayton Banuba Yaache (Rtd), on behalf of all veterans, while the fourth wreath was laid by the Osu Alata Manste Nii Kwabena Bonne V, on behalf of the traditional authorities and the community.

The final wreath was laid by Michel Atipoe, a representative from the families of the three fallen soldiers accompanied by Cornelius Okan-Adjetey and Herman David.

History

A number of unarmed ex-servicemen, who were war soldiers of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force and fought alongside the allied forces in the second World War, on February 28, 1948, marched from Accra to the Christiansborg Castle to petition the then Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Sir Gerald Creasy, over their unpaid allowances.

The war veterans who had fought so gallantly were paid a pittance by way of war gratuity of about one shilling a day.

The ex-service men were naturally not happy with the gratuity.

While waiting for reasonable war benefits to be paid which were not forthcoming, the ex-service men decided that a direct approach should be made to the British Governor and the Commander-in-Chief of the Gold Coast.

Shooting

The ex-servicemen were accosted at the Christiansborg crossroads by a contingent of armed policemen led by a British Superintendent, Colin Imray, who ordered the ex-servicemen to disperse.

When his orders were disobeyed, Superintendent Imray gave another order to the police to open fire.

When the second order was also not complied with, Mr Imray fired at the ex-servicemen, killing Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey in the process.

The news about the death spread rapidly, leading to the breakdown of law and order in Accra and other parts of the country.

This incident encouraged anti-colonial movements to put pressure on the British government to set up a committee to investigate the killings and general disorder.

The committee recommended a self-government for the Gold Coast which subsequently led to the attainment of political independence for the country.