1979 — Ghana's June 4th Revolution

On June 4, 1979, junior Ghanaian officers led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings seized power in Accra, toppling the military government of General Fred Akuffo. Rawlings had been freed by soldiers after a failed coup attempt in May, and he returned at the head of a movement that promised to clean house.

The house-cleaning campaign that followed executed eight senior officers, including three former heads of state. The junta handed power to civilians three months later, but the story did not end there. Rawlings would return in 1981 and dominate Ghanaian politics for two decades, making June 4 a date Ghana still argues over.