When Ghana Fought Portugal in Geneva, the Victory Was Angola & Mozambique's
1/ In 1962, Ghana went to war with Portugal on behalf of Angola and Mozambique. Not with soldiers, but with lawyers.
2/Under Portuguese colonial rule, African labourers in Angola and Mozambique were flogged with the palmatória, a holed wooden paddle, and forced into unpaid labour under the notorious indigenato system. The abuses were systematic.
3/ Kwame Nkrumah refused to look away. His Bureau of African Affairs, operating from Flagstaff House, took up the cause, making Ghana the legal voice of Portuguese Africa.
4/ Ghana assembled a formidable team. Government attorneys Austin Amissah, director of public prosecutions, and Adelaide Nana Woode, together with diplomat Major Seth Kobla Anthony, prepared to challenge Portugal before the world.
5/ In February 1962, Ghana brought Portugal before the Internation Labour Organization’s Commission of Inquiry in Geneva, accusing it of violating the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105). Few expected a colonial power to be put on trial like this.
6/ Portugal denied everything. Then it tried to keep victims from testifying by offering scholarships and assimilado status (full Portuguese citizenship) to potential witnesses. Buying the voice of victims was Portugal’s strategy to win the legal battle.
7/ Ghana saw through it. Amissah and Anthony outmanoeuvred Portugal by recruiting a more balanced and credible group of witnesses.
8/ They brought German and Irish Catholic priests, Angolan and Mozambican students living in exile, and renowned British Africanist & historian Basil Davidson, a white man who was listed as a "prohibited immigrant" in several white-ruled African countries. Davidson was the first reporter to travel with African guerrillas fighting the Portuguese in Angola and Guinea-Bissau, bringing their struggle to the world's attention. His firsthand knowledge of Portuguese Africa proved invaluable to Ghana's case.
9/ The evidence was overwhelming. Victims displayed torture scars. The palmatória itself was presented. Witnesses recounted what they had endured. Portugal's defence steadily collapsed.
10/ The Commission ruled that Portugal had violated the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention in its African territories. It stopped short of calling Portugal's ratification a deliberate act of bad faith, but Ghana had won the case.
11/ The men behind the victory went on to remarkable careers. Austin Amissah later rise to become an appellate judge, then Attorney General, and eventually President of Botswana's Court of Appeal.
And as for Major Seth Kobla Anthony, his place in imperial military history had already been secured two decades earlier. Since 1942, he has held the singular honour of being the first Black African commissioned as an officer in the British Army, despite the objections of racist critics. For leading British troops and teaching them jungle warfare in Burma during the Second World War, he was awarded an MBE.
12/ Unlike the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, hidden and left to lie forgotten in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, only to be discovered over 3,000 years later, may the memories of these Ghanaian gems be widely known and remain ever fresh.
Jamestown Beach, Accra, 1977 — footage of a boat-racing regatta and surf-swimming competition held to mark the fifth anniversary of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong’s government. Competitors came from coastal communities across Ghana. The Abandze team from the Central Region won the main boat race, receiving 200 cedis and a carton of gin as first prize.
“A teacher in Sunyani was accused of impregnating a student and sentenced to 25 years in prison. After serving 10 years and appealing the case, a DNA test was conducted, which revealed that the child the student had given birth to was not the teacher’s child, proving his innocence.”
— A prison officer shared a shocking incident involving a teacher who was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being accused of impregnating a student, adding that in such cases, the student’s parents could face legal action and be sued for their role in contributing to a false accusation.
A heartwarming moment of pure sibling love. During the school lunch break, a caring sister visits her armless brother's classroom to lovingly feed him. A beautiful reminder that true love is shown through kindness, care, and selfless support. ❤️🥹
DON'T BECOME AN INTERRUPTION TO GOD'S PROGRAMME
God's enemy is not necessarily who you hate or what you hate. God's enemy is anyone or anything that becomes a perpetual interruption to the birthing of His prophetic agenda.
When we speak about God's judgment, we are not referring only to witches and wizards. We are also speaking about judgment upon rebellion against God's will. Jonah was not a fake prophet, yet the moment he went against God's instruction, he became an interruption to God's programme and almost lost his life.
Many believers need to shift their prayer this season. Rather than praying only, "Lord, give me," our cry should be: "Lord, give me grace. Give me strength. Give me stamina."
Some of you are in a season where it feels as though God is stripping away your former self. There is a version of you that God is looking for, and He is calling that version forth urgently.
Watch the full sermon titled "God’s Emphasis For The Hour (A Call For Discernment And Alignment)” on the Koinonia Global YouTube channel.
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