President John Dramani Mahama has opened up about a deeply personal chapter of his childhood, disclosing that he suffered recurring nightmares as a teenager following the detention of his father in the aftermath of Ghana’s 1966 coup.
The President shared the emotional account while addressing dignitaries at the opening of the 2026 Judicial Year and the 20th anniversary celebration of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania
The event brought together jurists, legal scholars, policymakers, and human rights advocates from across the continent to reflect on the progress and challenges of justice delivery in Africa.
In a speech that underscored the importance of judicial independence and the protection of human rights, President Mahama recounted the traumatic impact his father’s detention had on him as a young boy.
“As a teenager, I often dreamt of my father standing before judges awaiting the decision on his fate. He was detained once and faced the risk twice more, and this fear led to recurring nightmares about him.
“My father was a minister in Kwame Nkrumah’s government, and immediately after the coup, he and others were asked to report to the police station for their own safety. He was interrogated and taken into custody for over a year.
“By 1974, Ghana experienced another coup by Colonel I.K Acheampong, and by that time, my father had become a private citizen and was working as a rice farmer and agribusinessman with no involvement in politics.”
President Mahama’s father served as a minister under Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, whose government was overthrown in the February 24, 1966 coup.
Following the coup, several officials of the Nkrumah administration were rounded up, interrogated, and in some cases detained for extended periods.
