Declassified documents of the United States has shown clearly that the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA) plotted the could that overthrew one of Africa’s most progressive leaders, Kwame Nkrumah

Irohinoodua monitored Ghana’s President John Mahama saying the declassified US documents confirm the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) took active measures to ensure the revolutionary government was overthrown.

The revelation is coming for the first time though history is saturated with speculations that the American government played a major role in his overthrow.

Nkrumah laid the foundation for radical transformation of Ghana, a revolution he sought to extend to other African countries.

Notably, he formed alliance with progressives including Nigeria’s Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Nkrumah wanted a self reliance Ghana and Africa which the United States considered a threat.

The Ghana President said the CIA played a key role in the overthrow of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

He had sought alliance with the then Union of Socialist Soviet Republic, (USSR) and China to actualise the Africa Renaissance.

Speaking in Accra during Ghana’s 68th Independence Day celebrations, he said the February 24, 1966, coup that removed Nkrumah was “the most regrettable and darkest moment in our nation’s history”.

He said the US-backed coup drove Ghana into decades of political instability, violence, corruption, setting back the nation’s progress towards industrialisation and self-reliance.

He said “Declassified documents from the United States archives reveal that this was a coup inspired and engineered by the CIA. It shattered Nkrumah’s vision of an industrialised and self-reliant Ghana and significantly delayed our attainment of the objectives of nationhood.”

President Mahama also reflected on Ghana’s political history.

He laid emphasis on the importance of democratic transparency and the protection of national sovereignty.

“We must remind ourselves that democracy is not just about voting—it is about accountability, safeguarding freedoms, and ensuring socioeconomic prosperity,” he said.

He called on Ghanaians to assess the country’s current standing in areas such as governance, economic development, natural resource management, and national security. He also underscored the need to balance sustainability with economic growth in the face of climate change.

The fall of Nkrumah threw Ghana and indeed Africa backwards for many years and the continent is yet to come back from the shock.

The coup in Ghana spurred coups in many African countries believed to have been fueled by the CIA with consequent destabilisation of many countries.