Declassified Secret Files Reveal UK’s Role in Overthrowing Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah

A recently declassified document has exposed the British Foreign Office’s involvement in covert operations aimed at destabilizing the government of Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah. The file, marked “Top Secret,” reveals that the UK sought to create an environment conducive to Nkrumah’s overthrow and replacement with a pro-Western regime. This policy was supported by officials across both Conservative and Labour governments.

The document, dated May 6, 1966, was authored by the Foreign Office’s Information Research Department (IRD), a unit dedicated to Cold War-era covert propaganda. It provides explicit evidence of the UK’s efforts to orchestrate regime change in Ghana.

The Fall of Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah, a socialist and anti-imperialist leader, was ousted in a military coup on February 24, 1966, while en route to Hanoi to discuss peace proposals for the Vietnam War. He was replaced by General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, whom British officials described as “nice but stupid.” The coup marked the culmination of years of covert British operations against Nkrumah’s government.

A Pro-Western Agenda
The six-page report, titled “IRD Operations Against Nkrumah’s Government,” was written by Sir John Ure, a British diplomat who worked with the IRD for three years. It outlines the department’s objectives in Ghana, detailing efforts to undermine Nkrumah’s administration and promote a Western-aligned government.

Ure wrote that by 1962, Nkrumah had increasingly relied on Communist support within Ghana while pursuing a policy of subversion in other African nations. The IRD’s African, Editorial, and Special Operations Sections collaborated closely to discredit Nkrumah, aiming to create an atmosphere where his overthrow would be possible. Ure chillingly concluded: “Now that this objective has been realized, our efforts are being directed at ensuring that the lesson of Nkrumah’s flirtation with Communism is not lost on other Africans.”

Covert Propaganda Tactics
The IRD employed a range of covert tactics to destabilize Nkrumah’s government. These included distributing thousands of leaflets from fictitious sources, publishing hostile articles, and promoting anti-Communist literature. The campaigns targeted influential groups such as librarians, teachers, university educators, student organizations, and the press, while ignoring Nkrumah’s widespread popularity in rural areas.

One of the IRD’s first covert attacks targeted Kodwo Addison, Director of the Ideological Institute at Winneba, through a leaflet falsely attributed to a group of “patriotic Ghanaians.” The leaflet accused Addison of Communist ties and was distributed to key figures and institutions. Similar attacks were launched against Kofi Batsa, secretary general of the Pan-African Journalists Union.

Nkrumah’s Anti-Colonial Legacy
Nkrumah, a leading figure in the Pan-African movement, led Ghana to independence from British rule in 1957, becoming its first prime minister and later president. He co-founded the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, which later became the African Union. His government provided support to liberation movements across Africa, including in Portuguese colonies like Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Angola, and opposed white supremacist regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa.

British officials viewed Nkrumah’s anti-colonial agenda as “subversive activities,” particularly given the UK’s significant trade interests in southern Africa. Internal Foreign Office documents reveal growing concern over Nkrumah’s alignment with Communist ideologies and his support for African liberation movements.

Escalating Covert Operations
UK propaganda efforts intensified in the final years of Nkrumah’s rule. In June 1964, Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home suggested leaking damaging information about Nkrumah through untraceable channels. The Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO) endorsed a series of covert attacks targeting Nkrumah’s Communist advisers, distributed from other African and European countries.

Ghana faced significant turmoil during this period, with Nkrumah surviving multiple assassination attempts and bombings between 1962 and 1964. Despite his popularity, his government grew increasingly authoritarian, banning opposition parties and declaring him president for life in 1964.

Nkrumah’s Book and British Fury
The publication of Nkrumah’s 1965 book, Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, further inflamed British hostility. In it, Nkrumah criticized Western exploitation of African nations through financial institutions, corporations, and intelligence agencies like the CIA. He argued that neo-colonialism allowed former colonial powers to maintain control over ostensibly independent states.

Ure noted that after the book’s release, the CRO lifted restrictions on targeting Ghana due to its Commonwealth membership. The IRD subsequently increased its anti-Nkrumah propaganda, primarily through the African Review, a publication secretly controlled by the British.

British Complicity in the Coup
While the CIA’s role in the 1966 coup has been well-documented, Britain’s involvement has remained less clear. The declassified files confirm that the UK actively supported Nkrumah’s removal, engaging in covert propaganda and maintaining close ties with coup plotters. British diplomats celebrated the post-coup junta as “strongly anti-Communist,” while US officials described it as “almost pathetically pro-Western.”

Sir John Ure, who later served as British ambassador to Cuba, Brazil, and Sweden, passed away last year. His report stands as a stark reminder of the lengths to which the UK went to undermine a leader who challenged Western dominance in Africa.

Original Source: Declassified UK