Christianborg Crossroads shooting incident marked
A wreath-laying ceremony was held yesterday at the Nationalism Park, near the Independence Square in Accra, to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Christianborg Crossroads shooting incident in 1948, which served as a major catalyst for the struggle of Ghana’s independence.
Advertisement
The ceremony is held every year to honour three ex-servicemen who were killed during a peaceful march to the Christianborg Castle. The three, Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey, all members of the then Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force, were killed by the colonial police while marching peacefully to the Castle to present a petition to the then Governor, Sir Gerald Creasy.
Relatives of the fallen heroes, ministers of state, parliamentarians, schoolchildren, as well as other dignitaries thronged the park to participate in the annual ceremony.
The shooting incident was re-enacted.
Prayers
After the traditional, Christian and Muslim prayers, the bugle was sounded to invite all veterans to be on parade. Prayers were said for the souls of the three soldiers who exhibited love, dedication and service to their country, and to invoke peace and stability in Ghana.
The VAG contingent then marched to the parade grounds after which the roll of the veterans was called and a brief history of the incident was read. After that, flags were hoisted. After the sounding of the Last Post, a minute’s silence was observed for the departed national heroes, followed by the reveille.
Five wreaths were laid; the first from the government and the people of Ghana, followed by one from the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) on behalf of the security services, while the National Chairman of the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG) laid one for veterans. The Osu Mantse laid a wreath for traditional authorities, while a representative of Sergent Adjetey’s family laid one for the fallen soldiers.
History of the crossroads
It was noon on February 28, 1948. A number of ex-servicemen were marching from Accra to Christianborg Castle to present a petition to the Governor on their unpaid war benefits. They were, however, intercepted at the crossroads by a contingent of armed policemen.
The contingent, led by British Police Superintendent, Mr Colin Imray, ordered that they disperse and when they refused to obey, he gave an order to the police to open fire and the three ex-servicemen were killed.
Other Trending Stories
The ex-soldiers had fought alongside the allied forces in the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force during the Second World War and had returned home poor but they were not paid their gratuity.
After several appeals to the colonial government to consider their plight had failed, the ex-servicemen decided that a direct appeal should be made to the British Colonial Governor of the Gold Coast, hence the march.
Writer’s email: naa.bentil@graphic.com.gh