A Different Account of the Events That Occured On 28th February 1948.

On the 28th of February 1948, two seminal events occurred in what was then the Gold Coast.

1. The end of the boycott of European goods spearheaded by Nii Kwabena Bonnie III’s Anti-Inflation Campaign Committee.

2. The killing of the three ex-servicemen at Christianborg Castle.

It has been accepted as fact in some quarters that there exists a link between the boycott and the 1948 riots. However in an account that was written by Nii Kwabena Bonnie III, in his autobiography, he challenges that notion by stating that “although it may be true to say that spirits ran high on that day, owing partly to the fact that the extent of the price reductions had not been fully explained to the ordinary people in the way in which they expected, the Boycott and Anti-Inflation campaign had no connection whatever either with the incidents mentioned above [the killings and riots] or with the subsequent arrest of six leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention Party.”

Per his account,

“What actually happened on that fateful day was that-while the hustling and bustling about the economic situation was in progress — the servicemen were due to present a petition to the Governor of the Gold Coast in person, at his Christianborg Castle residence, against what they alleged to be unsatisfactory men from the Gold Coast Regiment. They had decided to make the occasion a day of public demonstration by marching to the Castle through certain routes agreed upon between their leaders and the Commissioner of Police. The date for this demonstration had been previously fixed for the 28th February and all the servicemen who were to participate were requested by their leader, Mr. B. E. A. Tamakloe, to arrive at the Old Polo Ground, Accra, in time for the order to “fall in.”

On the appointed day, however, i.e., the 28th February, the ex- servicemen were warned by the Government not to proceed to the Governor’s Castle, as had been arranged, but to present their petition to the Colonial Secretary at the Secretariat. The police took precautionary measures. But the frenzied service men did not keep to their proposed route. They headed towards the Castle with the intention of convincing the Governor of the seriousness of the demands embodied in their petition. Police Superintendent Imray in charge of the Accra Police decided to stop the ex-servicemen from proceeding to the Castle. He ordered the men to halt and then read the Emergency Act, but the ex-servicemen took no heed and marched on. Imray then gave his last warning and then ordered his men to fire. He is reported to have snatched a gun from one of his men and to have fired himself into the crowd after his subordinates had refused to do so.

Simultaneously, looting started in the shops in the centre of the town. Pandemonium broke loose. From the Kingsway Stores situated near the beach to the last shop along the Station Road, in the heart of the town, almost every shop was looted. Because it was on a Saturday when most of the shops had been closed at noon, the crowd were left unmolested to loot. While the looting went on, frightened business managers fled to the Accra Airport and to the outskirts of the town to seek refuge from the enraged crowd. Millions of pounds worth of goods were looted. One of the United Africa Company’s large stores and other shops belonging to foreign firms went up in flames. Men, women and children were either killed or seriously wounded on the following day.”

And thus, that is the side that Nii Kwabena Bonnie III, Osu Alata Mantse presents. We cannot state emphatically that one side is wrong or not. What we at Akensie aim to do however is to present the different sides that have been lost in the annals of history and help generate dialogue and debate. It is our hope that this serves as some food for thought.