I planned a coup against Acheampong but I was betrayed and arrested – Dr Nyaho-Nyaho

A founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has recounted how he attempted to take over the leadership of the country via a military takeover.

In an interview with Citi TV’s Umaru Sanda Amadu on the Face to Face show, Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe revealed that in the 1970s, he sought to depose General Kutu Acheampong, who seized power from Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia.

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General Kutu Acheampong’s government in Ghana was in power from January 13, 1972, to July 5, 1978.

According to  Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, the betrayal of an individual whose identity he failed to disclose nearly cost him his life. But for luck, he managed to keep his head, however, he was sacked from the military, got arrested, and had to serve his sentence at Usher Fort prison.

“My stay in the military was eventful. If I had not been lucky, I wouldn’t be sitting here today, I would have been killed. I and other four colleagues planned a coup d’état. It was abortive because we were betrayed. We were planning to stage a coup against General Kutu Acheampong long ago, but we were arrested. He was overthrown when we were in prison at Usher Fort,” he recounted.

General Kutu Acheampong was deposed in another military coup led by General Fred Akuffo in 1978.

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Per Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe’s account, he was first sent to a prison at Akosombo but later transferred to Usher Fort due to fear of a comeback.

He, however, did not meet the ousted military leader as he had been released.

“When we left, he was brought there. First, he was sent to Akosombo and I think he started playing some tricks of staging a comeback. Security got to know about it, so they brought him to Usher Fort, and it was difficult to escape. I was sacked for planning a coup, I left the military as a captain,” Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe recalled.

General Kutu Acheampong was executed by firing squad in June 1979 for corruption.