The West African country of Ghana, (formerly known as Gold Coast), has commenced making restitution for past human rights abuses especially under the past military regimes of Jerry Rawlings, by making reparation payments ranging from $217 to $3,300, depending on the severity of abuse or violation, to about 2,000 Ghanaians. Ghana, now perceived as a leading democracy in Africa, was plagued by political turbulence from periods spanning five regimes since independence from Great Britain in 1957. Kwame Nkrumah was the first post colonial President of Ghana.
The nine-member National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) which was formed about five years ago to address human rights violations committed under various governments since Ghana gained independence collected more than 4,000 statements from victims and witnesses. They held in excess of 2,000 public hearings, recordings of stories of executions, disappearances, tortures, arbitrary imprisonments, and confiscation of various properties.
The commission recommended some $1.5 million in payments and individual compensations began in earnest this week.
Äs I went to the commission to tell my problems, all that have happened to me. I am feeling better now because formally we went to the police station, we did not get anything, the time the case happened. We drive, go up and down we could not see anything, until this government came in and said we should come and confess. Now I’m okay, I do not want to continue with the pain again because the government has come in to intervene to settle the the case,” said Richard EffaRichard Effah, one of the victims. In 1979, during the first of two military coups by former president Jerry Rawlings, he was beaten up by a group of armed soldiers. He still bears both physical and psychological scars. The scars on his ribs and arms are constant reminders, but he says telling his story to the commission has helped heal his psychological wounds.
The Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Ghana, Joe Ghartey, said that although the process of healing is very important, ÿou can never pay somebody enough for human rights abuse, you can never do that and so it is reparation, it is some form of token payment, a token payment from the people of Ghana, to the people who suffered abuse, so it is not a lot of money”.
The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is a national of Ghana.