1979 Coup: ‘Oh God, take us out’ – Ex-Bantamahene prayed
Rev. Fr. Andrew Campbell is a retired Parish Priest of Christ the King Catholic Church in Ghana and has shared the country’s history.
He has witnessed many political transitions in the country, including the 1979 coup, described by many as the most politically charged year in Ghana since its independence on March 6, 1957.
According to Rev. Father Andrew Campbell, he met countless people in James Fort Prison and Ussher Fort Prison during evangelism.
“I visited both places on Wednesday when I said mass there… They (the prisoners) came to church every Wednesday; one side of the cell had the normal prisoners and the other side, had political prisoners.
“And in front, on a special kneeler, was the Bantamahene. He was on the front bench with his kneeler, praying ‘Oh God, take us out of this bloody dungeon’.
Every time he (the Bantamahene) was praying,” Father Campbell narrated to Kafui Dey He said that one of the political prisoners he encountered was the then Bantamahene, a revered chief of the Ashanti Kingdom.
The priest, who was by them the parish priest of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Accra, said that the Ashanti chief used to attend the Wednesday mass he held and would mostly be in the front pew.
