On June 4th 1979, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council under the leadership of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings 🇬🇠took over power from the Supreme Military Council headed by Gen. Fred Akuffo which had come to power in 1972, citing corruption, poor governance and mismanagement of State resources as reason for the overthrow.
The June 4th Revolution also known as the June 4th Uprising was headed by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings. When the ban on Political Parties was lifted in 1979, Jerry Rawlings launched his first coup attempt but it failed and he was arrested and jailed. However, Rawlings was helped by other military men who helped him to escape from jail. After his release from jail, he ousted the current leader, Gen. Fred Akuffo.
Flt. Lieut. Jerry Rawlings post coming to power and leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council brought up Elections just 4 months post his release from Jail which led to Hilla Limann of the People’s National Party coming to power. In Mr. Limann’s regime, inflation and poor economic management were associated with his tenure which led to Lieutenant Rawlings ousting him on December 31st 1981, and coming in with the Provisional National Defence Council.
One significant milestone of the June 4th Revolution was the “housekeeping exercise”, which aimed at ensuring Justice against corruption that had taken place by previous governments such as the gulf sharing scandal, cocoa smuggling tonither countries and oil deal scandal. The exercise led to the jailing and execution of leaders who played roles in various corrupt practices in the previous governments.
The Ghanaian Anatomy jn 1979 gained trust in the Provisional National Defence Council and saw the June 4th Uprising as a new era for restored hope towards safeguarding the country’s Democratic leadership.
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