We Riot

6th March 1948. Days had passed since the start of the riots. It had gone on for a couple of days, but eventually, the colonial government restored law and order. Extra troops had been brought in to quell the trouble. The rioters had been cleared off the streets, and calm had been reinstated in the […]

1st March 1948. If anyone thought all the destruction and chaos of the past two days would surely be enough for the angry rioters and looters, they were dead wrong. As long as there were other Levantine and European shops still operating around town, there were more places fit for the wrath of these folks.

29th February 1948. People in the Gold Coast were frustrated and unhappy with the state of affairs, all right. But nobody would have expected what happened the previous day. Nobody would have expected that the ex-servicemen’s procession would end up being as deadly as it turned out to be. Nobody would have expected that the

“Ah, but these new prices aren’t any better?” “Is that all? Oh!” “Are they serious right now?” “But these prices are no better than what we boycotted these shops for!” “They have deceived us!” Accra Central was very busy that afternoon, particularly around the Opera Square, the commercial hub of the city. The boycott organized

28th February 1948. 4:30 am. Nii Amarteifio was seated upright on the mattress, deep in thought as he pondered, deep in thought as he looked around the room covered in darkness and pondered over what was to go down that day. Finally, the day had come for him and many other ex-servicemen to make their

It was a sunny, busy Thursday morning in Accra, with people busily making their way through the ever-busy streets of central Accra.  From buyers to sellers to workers of various workplaces like the General Post Office, the human traffic was thick, although it wasn’t as dense as would normally be the case, as there were

Go and tell the girl, the girl whom I love, Go and tell her mother she sees me no more, If I die in the battlefield, I die forever more, Now every British soldier is fighting for the King… Nii Amarteifio sang to himself as he sat in front of the blue kiosk that served

“Ah! So they were just coming to cut down the trees like that?” David Avudega asked over the phone in amazement. “Yes oo, David. That was their mission at the farm. To come and cut down our cocoa trees. Can you imagine?” David shook his head. “These people kraaa, what is wrong with them? Do

Fareed’s Bar. One of the low-key drinking bars set up in the neighbourhoods of Adabraka, this place was frequented by many a gentleman looking to down a bottle or two of beer while airing out their frustrations at the standard of living in the Gold Coast. That Wednesday evening, Justice Morrison and Kofi Boadu were

Welcome, dear reader! So this is a bit of historical fiction. If you’re a Ghanaian, you most likely know about the 1948 Riots and how it was a catalyst of sorts for what became a long but successful fight for independence. This story is taking us back to the 1940s when Ghana was called Gold