Emmanuel Kotoka
| Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 26 October 1926 Alakple, Gold Coast |
| Died | 17 April 1967 Accra, Ghana |
| Allegiance | Ghana |
| Service/ |
Ghana Army |
| Years of service | 1947–1967 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Chief of Defence Staff |
| Awards | Ghana Service Order for Exceptional Bravery |
| Other work | Member of NLC Minister for Defence Minister for Health |
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (26 October 1926 – 17 April 1967) was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council which came to power in Ghana in a military coup d'état on 24 February 1966. This overthrew the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the republic.
Emmanuel Kotoka was born at Alakple, a village in the Keta district of the Volta Region of the Gold Coast (British colony). He completed his basic education at the Alakple Roman Catholic School and later the Anloga Senior School in 1941. He started training as a goldsmith but switched to a career in the military.
In July 1947, he enlisted as a private in the Infantry School of the Gold Coast Regiment at Teshie in Accra. He rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant in 1948 and later Company Sergeant Major in 1951. In 1952, he was among some west African soldiers selected for training at Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom. In 1954, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and seconded to the British army on the Rhine.
On his return to the Gold Coast (as Ghana was then called), he was made a Platoon Commander of the Second Gold Coast Regiment of Infantry. He rose to become the Second-in-Command and in 1959 became the Platoon Commander with the rank of Captain. He was promoted to the rank of Major later that year. In 1960, he attended the Company Commander's course at the School of Infantry in Warminster, England. In 1960, he was the commander of D company of the detachment of the Second Battalion of the Ghana army which made up Ghana's contingent in the United Nations Operation in the Congo deployed in the capital, Leopoldville, now Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was regarded as a national hero following this deployment. He was awarded the Ghana Service Order for Exceptional Bravery for Distinguished Service in the Congo in 1963. He later became the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade (now the Northern Command) of the Ghana Army) located at Kumasi.
...
Wikipedia