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((short description|1948 riots in Accra, colonial Ghana, following police killings of protesting veterans))
((Use dmy dates|date=March 2021))

The '''Accra riots''' started on 28 February 1948 in [[Accra]], the capital of the then British colony of the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (present-day [[Ghana]]). A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as veterans of [[World War II]], who had fought with the [[Gold Coast Regiment]] of the [[Royal West African Frontier Force]], was broken up by police, leaving three leaders of the group dead. They were [[Sergeant Adjetey|Sergeant Nii Adjetey]], Corporal [[Patrick Attipoe]] and Private [[Odartey Lamptey]].<ref name=GhanaDistricts>((cite web |url=https://3ddemocracy.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/ghana-commemorates-christiansborg-crossroad-shooting/ |title=Ghana commemorates the 63rd anniversary of the 28 February Christiansborg, Crossroad shooting  |last=Anter |first=Tarig  |website=3D Democracy for People Participation in Alternative System  |date=28 February 2012  |access-date=20 October 2020  ))</ref><ref name=PRAAD>((Cite web |title=The Riots of 28th February 1948 |publisher= Public Records And Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) |location= Accra |url=https://praad.gov.gh/index.php/the-riots-of-28th-february-1948/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |language=en-GB))</ref> who has since been memorialized in Accra.

The 28 February incident is considered "the straw that broke the camel's back", marking the 
key point in the process of the Gold Coast becoming the first African [[colony]] to achieve [[independence]], becoming [[Ghana]] on 6 March 1957.<ref>((Cite book |last=Austin |first=Dennis |title=Politics in Ghana: 1946–1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1970 |isbn=9780192850461 |edition=new |location=London |pages=49–102 |language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite journal|last=Howe|first=Russell Warren|author-link=Russell Warren Howe|date=1957|title=Gold Coast into Ghana|journal=The Phylon Quarterly|volume=18|issue=2|pages=155–161|doi=10.2307/273187|jstor=273187|issn=0885-6826))</ref>

== Background ==
In January 1948, the [[Ga people|Ga]] chief, [[Nii Kwabena Bonnie III|Nii Kwabena Bonne III]],<ref>((Cite book|last=Nii Kwabena Bonne III|title=Milestones in the History of the Gold Coast: Autobiography of Nii Kwabena Bonne III, Osu Alata Mantse, also Nana Owusu Akenten III, Oyokohene of Techiman Ashanti|publisher=Diplomatist Publications|date=1953| oclc=835843739))</ref> known in private life as Theodore Taylor (1888–1968),<ref name=Quayson>((Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9h3IBAAAQBAJ&q=emmanuel+charles+quist+relations&pg=PT112|title=Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism|last=Quayson|first=Ato|author-link=Ato Quayson|date=13 August 2014|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-7629-3|language=en))</ref> had organised a [[boycott]] of all European imports in response to their inflated prices.<ref name=GhanaWeb>((cite web|url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/MARTYRS-of-X-borg-Crossrodas-Sgt-Adjetey-Cpl-Lamptey-Cpl-Attipoe-52769|first=Nii-Ashitei |last=Ashitey|title=MARTYRS of X'borg Crossrodas: Sgt. Adjetey, Cpl. Lamptey & Cpl. Attipoe|publisher=GhanaWeb|date=28 February 2014|access-date=20 January 2015))</ref> 
The boycott's aim was to press the foreign traders known as the [[Association of West African Merchants]] (AWAM) to reduce the inflated prices of their goods.<ref name=dedey>((cite web |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=120440 |title=The 'Big Six', Myth or Reality? |access-date=3 April 2007 |first=Kosi |last=Dedey |date=8 March 2007 |work=Feature article |publisher=GhanaWeb))</ref>((  refn|group=notes  |AWAM has since become a term synonymous with cheating or profiteering in Ghana.<ref>((cite web|title=Ghanaian Slang    |url=https://www.timeout.com/accra/travel/ghanaian-slang-tribal-terms  |website=Time Out   |first=Daniel|last=Nielson  |location=Accra|date=25 November 2015  ))</ref>)) The boycott was followed by a series of [[riot]]s in early February 1948.<ref name=Ohene>((cite web |url=http://www.ghanareview.com/directory/history.html |title=Ghana before Independence |access-date= |first=Allan D.|last= Ohene |date=March 2002 |work=Ghana Review |publisher=))</ref> The day the boycott was scheduled to end, 28 February, coincided with a march by veterans of [[World War II]].<ref name=dedey/>

==28 February march and riot==

The march on 28 February 1948 was a peaceful attempt by former soldiers to bring a [[petition]] to the [[Governor of the Gold Coast]] requesting the dispensation of promised pensions and other compensation for their efforts during the war. The ex-servicemen were members of the [[Gold Coast Regiment]], who were among the most decorated African soldiers, having fought in [[Burma]] alongside British troops. Despite having been promised pensions and jobs after the war, when these servicemen returned home, there was scant employment for them and their pensions were not paid.<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/education/historicaccount/The-Accra-Riots-28th-February-1948-33726|title=The Accra Riots, 28th February 1948|website=GhanaWeb|date=19 December 2022))</ref>

As the group marched towards the Governor's residence at the [[Osu Castle|Christiansborg Castle]], they were stopped and confronted by the colonial police, who refused to let them pass. The British police Superintendent Colin Imray<ref>((Cite web |publisher=The National Archives|location=Kew| title=The Discovery Service ((!)) Imray, Colin, (1909–1998), Assistant Police Commissioner Colonial Service  |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F45933 |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |language=en-GB))</ref> ordered his subordinates to shoot at the protesters, but the men did not. Possibly in panic,<ref>((cite web |last1=Ensor |first1=Michael |title=Policeman in Africa by Colin Imray: Review by Michael Ensor (Gold Coast/Ghana 1940–58)   |url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/library/policemaninafrica.htm  |website=The British Empire |access-date=31 October 2020))</ref> Superintendent Imray grabbed a rifle and shot at the leaders,<ref name="iwm">((cite web |last1=Imray |first1=Colin  |title=Imray, Colin Herbert (Oral History)  |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012640   |publisher=[[Imperial War Museum]]  |date=20 November 1992   |access-date=31 October 2020))</ref> killing three veterans : [[Sergeant Adjetey]], [[Corporal Attipoe]] and [[Private Odartey Lamptey]].<ref name=GhanaWeb /> Apart from the three fatalities, several members of the crowd were wounded.<ref>((Cite web |title=The 'Cat's Paw of Dictatorship': State Security and Self-Rule in the Gold Coast, 1948 to 1957 |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt1h26z17f/qt1h26z17f.pdf |last=Arnold|first=Chase|date=2019|access-date=14 May 2023 |website=UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations))</ref>

People in Accra took to the streets in riot over these killings.<ref name="iwm"/> On the same day, the local political leadership, the [[United Gold Coast Convention]]<ref>((Cite book|author=Austin, Dennis|title=The Working Committee of the United Gold Coast Convention|date=1961|publisher=University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies|oclc=224008819))</ref> (UGCC), led by [[the Big Six (Ghana)|the Big Six]], sent a cable to the Secretary of State in London:<ref name=PRAAD />

<blockquote>"...unless Colonial Government is changed and a new Government of the people and their Chiefs installed at the centre immediately, the conduct of masses now completely out of control with strikes threatened in Police quarters, and rank and file Police indifferent to orders of Officers, will continue and result in worse violent and irresponsible acts by uncontrolled people."<ref name=PRAAD /></blockquote>

They also blamed the Governor [[Gerald Creasy|Sir Gerald Creasy]] (whom they called "Crazy Creasy") for his handling of the country's problems.<ref name=Ohene /> The UGCC cable further stated: <blockquote>"Working Committee United Gold Coast Convention declare they are prepared and ready to take over interim Government. We ask in name of oppressed, inarticulate, misruled and misgoverned people and their Chiefs that Special Commissioner be sent out immediately to hand over Government to interim Government of Chief and People and to witness immediate calling of Constituent Assembly."<ref name="PRAAD"/></blockquote>

The unrest in Accra, and in other towns and cities, would last for five days, during which both Asian and European-owned stores and businesses were looted and more deaths occurred.<ref>[http://danquahinstitute.org/docs/NkrumahRise&Fall.pdf "Kwame Nkrumah: ''Africa's 'Man of the Millennium′''"]. ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221203/http://danquahinstitute.org/docs/NkrumahRise%26Fall.pdf |date=3 March 2016 )). Danquah Institute.</ref> By 1 March, the Governor had declared a state of emergency and a new Riot Act was put in place.<ref name=PRAAD /> It was reported in the British parliament that the Governor had "imposed a curfew in certain parts of Accra and ... made regulations to control traffic and close roads".<ref>((cite journal|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1948/mar/01/gold-coast-rioting-accra#column_38|title=Gold Coast (Rioting, Accra)|work=[[Hansard]]|date=1 March 1948|volume=448))</ref> Strict press censorship was imposed over the entire country by Governor Creasy.<ref>((Cite web |date=2017-10-28 |title=October 26, 1948 – Coussey Commission formed in aftermath of Gold Coast riots |url=https://www.eaumf.org/ejm-blog/2017/10/28/october-26-1948-coussey-commission-formed-in-aftermath-of-gold-coast-riots |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation |language=en-GB))</ref>

== Aftermath ==
((more citations needed section|date=February 2017))
The British colonial government set up the [[Watson Commission]],<ref>((Cite book |doi = 10.1057/9780230603486_7|chapter = The Watson Commission and the Coussey Committee|title = The Regime Change of Kwame Nkrumah|pages = 143–182|year = 2007|last1 = Rahman|first1 = Ahmad A.|isbn = 978-1-349-52903-2))</ref><ref>((Cite web |url=http://justiceghana.com/blog/our-country/history-and-politics/the-tales-of-june-4-and-the-1948-riots/ |title=The Tales of June 4 and The 1948 Riots |website=JusticeGhana|access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018002108/http://justiceghana.com/blog/our-country/history-and-politics/the-tales-of-june-4-and-the-1948-riots/ |archive-date=18 October 2018 |url-status=live ))</ref><ref>Okyere, Vincent N. (2000), ''Ghana. A Historical Survey'', Accra, p. 158.</ref> which examined the circumstances of the riots, and paved the way for constitutional changes that eventually culminated in Ghana's independence.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5153#:~:text=Administrative%20/%20biographical%20background:-,The%20Commission%20of%20enquiry%20into%20disturbances%20in%20the%20Gold%20Coast,in%20February%20and%20March%201948. |title=Colonial Office: Commission of enquiry into disturbances in the Gold Coast (Watson Commission, 1948) |date=1948 |publisher=The National Archives|location=Kew |language=en-GB))</ref>

The immediate aftermath of the riots included the arrest on 12 March 1948 of "[[The Big Six (Ghana)|the Big Six]]" – [[Kwame Nkrumah]] and other leading activists in the [[United Gold Coast Convention]] (UGCC) party (namely [[Ebenezer Ako-Adjei]], [[Edward Akufo-Addo]], [[J. B. Danquah]], [[Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey]] and [[William Ofori Atta]]),<ref>((Cite journal|last=Akansina Aziabah|first=Maxwell|title=Obetsebi-Lamptey, Emmanuel Odarquaye|date=2011-12-08|work=African American Studies Center|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.49678|isbn=978-0-19-530173-1))</ref> who were held responsible for orchestrating the disturbances and were detained, before being released a month later. The arrest of the leaders of the UGCC raised the profile of the party around the country and made them national heroes.<ref name="SECRETARY OF THE UGCC">((Cite book  |chapter=SECRETARY OF THE UGCC  |date=2007-11-15  |title=Kwame Nkrumah. Vision and Tragedy  |first=David|last= Rooney  |pages=52–72  |publisher=Sub-Saharan Publishers  |doi=10.2307/j.ctvk3gm60.9|isbn=978-9988-647-81-0))</ref>

The Watson Commission reported that the 1946 [[constitution]] was inappropriate from the start, because it did not address the concerns of the natives of the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]]. The Commission also recommended that the Gold Coast be allowed to draft its own constitution. A 40-member committee was set up to draft a constitution, with six representatives of the UGCC. The governor excluded Kwame Nkrumah, among others, from the constitutional drafting committee, for fear of drafting a constitution that would demand absolute independence for the colony.<ref>((Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Colonial Office: Commission of enquiry into disturbances in the Gold Coast (Watson Commission, 1948)|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5153|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307231404/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk:80/details/r/C5153 |archive-date=7 March 2017 |access-date=|website= |publisher=The National Archives|location=Kew))</ref>

By 1949, Nkrumah had broken away from the UGCC to form the [[Convention People's Party]] (CPP), with the motto "Self-government now", and a campaign of "[[Positive Action]]". Nkrumah broke away due to misunderstandings at the leadership front of the UGCC.<ref name="SECRETARY OF THE UGCC"/><ref>((Cite journal|last=Bob-Milliar, George M.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/908249721|title=Verandah boys versus reactionary lawyers : nationalist activism in Ghana, 1946–1956|journal=International Journal of African Historical Studies|volume= 47|number= 2|pages=287–318|date=2014|publisher=WorldCat|oclc=908249721))</ref>

On 6 March 1957, the country achieved its independence and was renamed Ghana, with Nkrumah as its first President.<ref name=PRAAD />

== Notes ==
((reflist|group=notes))

== References ==
((Reflist))

== External links ==
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01t10s9 "Ghana Veterans and the 1948 Accra Riots"], ''Witness History'', BBC World Service, date 7 March 2014.

[[Category:1948 riots|Accra Riots, 1948]]
[[Category:1948 in Gold Coast (British colony)|Accra Riots, 1948]]
[[Category:20th century in Accra]]
[[Category:February 1948 events in Africa]]
[[Category:History of Accra]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Ghana]]

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