The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has filed a suit at the Supreme Court with Democracy Hub, to revoke Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka’s name from Ghana’s International Airport.
The group says the suit is “part of a broader effort to correct a historical injustice, challenge the glorification of unconstitutional rule, and reaffirm Ghana’s commitment to democratic governance.”
They have explained that the bearing of Kotoka’s name on the Airport (Kotoka International Airport), contradicts the provision in the constitution which abhors coup d’etats, making the honour bestowed on a perpetrator of such act as a breech of the constitution.
In a statement issued by the group Monday, February 24, 2025, Democracy Hub says “the man whose actions helped overthrow Ghana’s 1960 Constitution and derail the country’s democratic progress, is an unacceptable contradiction.”
It has called on Ghanaians to support the move to get Ghana’s democracy protected and reject the honouring of coup d’etat remnants to safeguard the integrity of the nation’s constitution.
Find below the full statement from Democracy Hub:
DEMOCRACY HUB JOINS THE CPP TO FILE LAWSUIT TO REMOVE KOTOKA’S NAME FROM ACCRA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
On this historic day, Democracy Hub, in collaboration with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking the removal of Kotoka’s name from Accra International Airport. This legal action is part of a broader effort to correct a historical injustice, challenge the glorification of unconstitutional rule, and reaffirm Ghana’s commitment to democratic governance.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana firmly rejects coups d’état, making it a duty of every citizen to defend democracy against military interventions. However, for 59 years, Ghana has lived with the contradiction of denouncing coups d’état while continuing to honour one of the architects of the first military overthrow of an elected government.
The continued veneration of Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, the man whose actions helped overthrow Ghana’s 1960 Constitution and derail the country’s democratic progress, is an unacceptable contradiction. The naming of Kotoka International Airport, enshrined under the General Kotoka Trust Decree, 1969 (NLCD 339), is a state-sanctioned endorsement of an illegal regime change. It is time for Ghana to make a clear statement that it stands against unconstitutional rule, not just in rhetoric but in practice.
Democracy Hub also expresses its profound gratitude to the team of lawyers at Merton & Everett LLP for their industry, commitment, and painstaking work in making this case possible. This lawsuit is the result of rigorous and painstaking legal and archival research.
Democracy Hub calls on all Ghanaians, civil society organizations, youth activists, and defenders of democracy to support this legal challenge. This is more than a court case-it is a national reckoning with our past and a reaffirmation of our commitment to the rule of law.
The fight for democracy is the fight for Ghana’s future.
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