On February, 24 1966, Ghana’s to begin with upset, and what would be the primary of numerous to shake the at that point recently autonomous Ghana, happened.
It’s been 56 a long time since the upset that removed Ghana’s to begin with President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
The military rebellion disturbed 9 a long time of a CPP government based on allegations of broad debasement, intense times for the economy and smothering of free discourse.
The takeover happened when the at that point President had voyage on an official trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. Mr. Chris Hesse was voyaging with Dr. Nkrumah when news of his oust broke.
Mr. Hesse is 90 a long time ancient this year. He is the as it were person on that trip who is still lively.
“I utilized to share an office with Kwame Nkrumah. I would see him each day and would observe as he does his walk each day. He was a kind man. All through the time I knew him, he called me ‘my child’,” he said.
Hesse was as it were a 24-year-ancient when he cleared out the at that point Gold Coast Film Unit and was favored to the Office of the President.
He was one of the exceptionally to begin with filmmakers to be delivered from the unit which got to be the Ghana Film Industry Enterprise.
As the Presidential Cinematographer, he was portion of the assignment that made the travel to Hanoi, Vietnam.
“It was whereas on that travel, that the overthrow happened,” he says.
President Nkrumah had put off that trip on three past occasions. Dr. Nkrumah had been called upon to mediate within the security circumstance in Burma.
“It’s like Nkrumah knew that a upset was planning to happen. I did not get it him. I did not get it his disposition. It was after the upset had happened, when we were returning from Moscow, that I caught on why that trip had to be delayed that numerous times,” he said.
Mr. Hesse said when news of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s oust got to them, the President himself was calm.
“On the night that we gotten the news, it was a restless night. I couldn’t rest. There was disarray within the Ghana camp. By 4 within the morning, I was as of now alert and had come down to the campaign. Before long, President Nkrumah came down to inquire for the whereabout of his Priests.”
Hesse said numerous of the Priests had insider information of the overthrow and appear to have been working with the plotters. Numerous, he says, fled the camp to distinctive places counting one who came to Ghana, clearly in cahoots with the individuals who had organized the overthrow, to be made the another President.
“When Nkrumah listened around him and what he had done, he snickered and said ‘he was organizing his possess burial service’,” he said.
Nkrumah may not return to Ghana. Hesse said when they were on the last leg of their travel to Moscow, he got a far better sense of what happened. Agreeing to him, all the remaining Priests voyaging with the President deserted him at the commerce call segment
“The President looked so forlorn. I might see him from the economy lesson where I sat,” he said.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah stood up mid-flight, strolled up to Hesse whereas he was going through his shot list on his camera.
He said; “What has happened in Ghana will continue. It'll happen in numerous other African nations. It'll continue until the complete of Africa goes down and out of the fiery remains, a modern Africa will rise,”.
Not at all like numerous of the individuals on that trip who were tossed into imprison upon returning from that trip, Hesse went on to ended up one of Ghana’s best filmmakers of all time, working as a videographer for all Presidents who came after Nkrumah.
He headed the Ghana Film Industry Organization which Nkrumah had built up; Worked there for more than 30 a long time until he resigned within the year 2000.
Dr. Nkrumah settled in Guinea where he inevitably kicked the bucket in 1972.