The late Jerry Rawlings led two coups in Ghana before twice being elected president in multiparty polls. Whether you associate him with anti-imperialism, democracy or political violence, the fact is that he was able to retain military and popular control of Ghana for over 20 years.
Rawlings took power in a military coup on 31 December 1981, deposing a government led by Hilla Limann.
Rawlings immediately formed the Provisional National Defence Council. Military coups are relatively easy to stage. But sustaining them can prove difficult because they soon run out of political legitimacy, especially in the context of economic crisis. Rawlings did this by setting up structures that he described as the “highest form of democracy”.