Ghana held a ceremony in Accra, the capital, on Friday to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the killing of three World War II veterans in 1948 during the country’s struggle for independence.
A contingent of six officers and 174 men and women from the Ghana Armed Forces and Ghana Police Service mounted a parade to mark the occasion, one of the annual events honoring the heroes of Ghana’s independence struggle.
Ben Duah, executive director of the Veterans Administration, said the annual event reflects Ghana’s deep appreciation for the sacrifices made by these national heroes.
He recalled how the veterans were peacefully marching to Christiansborg Castle in Osu, a neighborhood in central Accra, to present a petition to the colonial authorities regarding their appalling conditions after the war when a British officer shot and killed three of them.
He added that the deaths of the three veterans sparked a wave of violent protests, fueling Ghana’s independence movement.
Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang laid a wreath on behalf of the government and people of Ghana in memory of the fallen veterans.
Ghana commemorates the anniversary of the Christiansborg Crossroads Shooting each year ahead of Independence Day, recognizing it as one of the defining moments in the nation’s struggle for self-determination from British colonial rule.
