Former National Security Head Captain Kojo Tsikata dead

Captain (retd) Kojo Tsikata, the former head of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) has died.

Family sources of the former member of the Council of State who confirmed his death say he had not been healthy until his death.

It is immediately not known what caused his death.

Profile

Kojo Tsikata (died 20 November 2021) was a Ghanaian military and politician, who served as the Head of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). He was listed as a retired army captain in the Ghana Army.

Tsikata was sent to the Congo with Major General Ankrah as part of a Ghanaian military contingent with orders from Kwame Nkrumah to protect the Pan-Africanist and anti-neocolonialist Patrice Lumumba, who was the Prime Minister. He later visited Conakry, Guinea, to visit Nkrumah. He was arrested, detained, and put on death row as a suspect of an assassination plot against Nkrumah on his arrival.^[7]

Samora Machel, a freedom fighter, intervened to pardon him. Samora travelled with him to Mozambique. He later arrived in Angola in 1964 to join MPLA fighters and internationalist fighters from Cuba.

He was appointed in 1982 under the Jerry Rawlings administration. He had been in charge of national security since 1982 and later joined the Rawlings administration on 21 January 1995. He was a member of the council of state and a captain of the Ghana Army. He also served as a member of the council of state of Ghana. In 1995, he was asked to join a negotiating team with Ibn Chambas who was the then Deputy Foreign Minister, and Brigadier General Agyemfra, accompanied by Harry Mouzillas from the Ghana News Agency as a journalist to cover the events. They travelled to join Mr. James Victor Gbeho, the then Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and a Resident of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings and Mr. Ate Allotey, a diplomat.

He rejected a national award to be conferred on him in the category of the order of Volta companion under President Kuffour. He was listed as one of the six government officials under the NDC regime to receive the award.

He was appointed by Gaddafi to a senior advisory position in charge of the Al Mathaba central committee, a support centre for the liberation movement and anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist organisations.

Controversies

A retired supreme court judge, Mr. Justice G. E. K. Aikins, intimated that Captain Tsikata was implicated in the kidnapping and murder of three high court judges and a retired army officer on 30 June 1983 during the PNDC regime and was never tried. Among the suspects were Captain Kojo Tsikata and Sergeant Aloga Akata-Pore, both key members of the then PNDC. Ghanaians brought Tsikata under scrutiny, but during the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) hearing he denied being involved with the killing of the judges.

 There was also insufficient evidence to prosecute Captain Tsikata according to the Attorney General of Ghana’s detailed reasons. One reason was that, before the execution of the sole witness, he withdrew his accusation against Captain Tsikata. Joachim Amartey Quaye, one of the architects of the murderous incident, was imprisoned and some soldiers, Tekpor, Dzandzu, and Helki, were all found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad. One of the convicted, Amedeka, escaped prison and has not been seen since.

Awards

Captain Kojo Tsikata received one of Angola’s highest honours, known as Carlos Silva among Angolan fighters, for his role in the struggle for national independence.

Tsikata is a holder of the Solidarity Award and of the Order of “Carlos Manuel de Céspedes”, conferred by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba.