The lead convener of Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has justified the decision to file a lawsuit seeking the removal of “Kotoka” from the name of Ghana’s International Airport.
This move comes amid a heated national debate over the appropriateness of honouring Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in the 1966 coup d’état, with such a prominent national monument.
On February 24, 2025, the Democracy Hub, in collaboration with the Convention People’s Party (CPP), filed a suit at the Supreme Court, arguing that retaining Kotoka’s name on the airport contradicts Ghana’s democratic values.
The plaintiffs contend that the name signifies state endorsement of unconstitutional actions, particularly Kotoka’s role in the overthrow of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, in 1966.
In an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, Barker-Vormawor explained that the lawsuit is not about revising history but ensuring that national symbols reflect the best elements of Ghana’s democratic principles.
“The question of revisionism, history is made up of both naming and renaming. So, the process of determining a name is the same way that India’s Mumbai became Bombay. Even the project of removing the name is also part of history.
“It doesn’t also mean the names of all coup makers should be removed. If we keep the name of the Kotoka Airport to remain the same, any other nothing but his role in the overthrow in 1966, we don’t think there will be a case to be made under the 1992 constitution,” he stated.
He continued, “So, for us, it doesn’t make any difference whether Kotoka is named after a street in Mallata or the airport. The bigger question is, will this be valorising a coup d’état? If this is the case, the Supreme Court said you cannot do that. If it was named after him because his name was the nicest name back then, then there is no legal remedy there,” he said .
Meanwhile, CPP has distanced itself from the writ filed by the Democracy Hub, asserting that it has no knowledge of the action taken by the pressure group.
