Air Vice-Marshal George Yaw Boakye (December 25, 1937 – June 26, 1979) was an airman and politician. He is a former Commander of the Ghana Air Force (November 1976 – June 1979) and member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) in Ghana. He became a member of the SMC in November 1976 by virtue of his position as the Commander of the Ghana Air Force. He was executed by firing squad on June 26, 1979.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
AVM George Yaw Boakye was born on the 25 December 1937 at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region of Ghana to the late Albert Yaw Boakye and Madam Sarah Akua Ampofowaa of Aduman in the Kwabere District. He started his primary education at the St. Joseph’s school in Kumasi in 1943, and then proceeded to enter the Opoku Ware Secondary School in 1953 where he graduated in 1957 with a West African School Certificate. After graduation, he entered the Kumasi College of Science and Technology (now known as the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology ) with the intention of pursuing a career in Mechanical Engineering. However, the authorities of the school felt he was one of the right materials for the newly established Faculty of Architecture, and thus steered his path toward a career in Architecture. This career change did not go down well with him, and this made him leave the university altogether in 1958. From his cherished dream of becoming a Mechanical Engineer, he soon became one of the first intakes of the Ghana Air Force Officer Corps in July 1959. He was married to Mrs Beatrice Afua Boakye, an educationist, and had five children.
MILITARY CAREER
Air Vice-Marshal George Yaw Boakye had his basic Military Training at the Teshie Military Academy and attended the Flying Training School in Takoradi, Ghana. He was commissioned on January 20, 1961 by the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana. From 1961-1963, he was attached to the No. 2 Squadron in Takoradi flying Caribous. He was later transferred to the Air Force station in Accra, Ghana, as a VIP Pilot flying Herons from 1963 to 1965. Later, he proceeded to attend the Junior Command and Staff School in the United Kingdom from January, 1966, until March, 1966. Between July 1965 and July 1967, he was the Squadron of the Air Force Station in Accra, Ghana. From December 1967 to December 1968, he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College, Andover, Hampshire, United Kingdom. In December 1969, he became the Squadron Leader of Air Force Plans at the Air Force HQ in Accra, Ghana. He held this position until August 1970. In that same month, he became the Senior Air Force Staff Officer at the Air Force HQ; a post he held until July, 1971. From July, 1971, until January, 1974, he was the Air Staff Officer and Chief Staff Officer. In January 1974, he proceeded to attend the National Defence College, in New Delhi, India; he completed the program in November, 1974. In January 1975, he became the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training Schools in Ghana. He served in that role until November, 1976, when he became the Commanding Officer of the Ghana Air Force. Throughout his life and career, AVM Boakye was known amongst his peers and visiting dignitaries as the ultimate definition of an officer and a gentleman.
POLITICS
By virtue of his position as Commanding Officer of the Ghana Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal George Yaw Boakye became a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC). He held this position until his execution by firing squad.
EXECUTION
On the morning of June 26, 1979, AVM Boakye, together with five other senior military officers (including two former Ghanaian heads of state), was executed by a firing squad at the Teshie Military Range, Ghana. After the morning execution, the bodies of the executed Generals and Colonel were unceremoniously buried at the Nsawam Prisons Cemetery in Adoagyiri, near Nsawam in the Eastern Region. Historical information suggests that the executed Generals and Colonel were not tried before their execution.In 2001, the remains of the executed senior military officers were exhumed by the government of President John Addo-Kuffuor.
REBURIAL
In 2001, the widows of the executed Generals and Colonel petitioned to President Kuffuor who ordered that their remains be exhumed. On December 27, 2001, Air Vice-Marshal Boakye and Major General Kotei were buried with full military honours at the Osu Military Cemetery in Accra.
