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FREEDOMWAYS     THIRD QUARTER 1966

by high walls, which housed offices of the President, Members of the Cabinet and some other officials. Behind these office buildings and in its own gardens was the simple two-story house where the President lived with his family.

Because the President was out of the country the strength of the Presidential Guard was below normal. They were greatly outnumbered by the attackers, but fought valiantly - to the death. Families of these guards occupied tiers of flats in buildings immediately across from Flagstaff house or behind it. As resistance continued, the attackers turned on these homes, hurled bombs into the compounds, broke in, tossed furniture out of the shattered windows and drove terrified wives, children and old people out into the streets. But still the Guards continued to fire. Flagstaff's outside wall was blasted open and the watch towers toppled; the Guards retreated behind the second gate. The hot afternoon wore on. Finally a voice, speaking through a loudspeaker, announced that unless the Guards surrendered by four o'clock bombs would be dropped from the air on the President's residence. Everybody for blocks knew that inside were the President's wife, his three small children and all the member's of his household. What could the few remaining Guards do? They clung to their posts until the last moment and then drew back.

Background of the attack was told to me. I cannot vouch for every detail:

It is said that immediately following President Nkrumah's departure troops were brought into the Accra area presumably for "special maneuvers"; on Wednesday night "crack" troops coming down from Kumasi were halted on the outskirts of Accra and told by the Officer in charge that - President Nkrumah had left the country taking with him several million pounds, that he was now in Red China where he was planning to turn the army over to them for their war in Vietnam, that already Russian planes were landing on a secret air strip in North Ghana, that a tunnel had been built from the Accra airport to Flagstaff house and that for days Russian officers and soldiers had been landing and were now in control of Flagstaff House, that the only way they could save their country and themselves from being sent to Vietnam was immediately to take Flagstaff House! It is said that in the darkness of early morning when the soldiers made their first attack on Flagstaff House this is what they thought they were doing.

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