Victor Coker-Appiah

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Victor Coker-Appiah was a Ghanaian soldier and politician who served under the National Redemption Council (NRC), the military government that overthrew the elected government of Kofi Abrefa Busia. He trained at Achimota School, joined the Ghana Army, and became one of the first Ghanaians to join the Engineers Regiment. He trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1957–1958 and was promoted to Major in August 1965.

He was involved in the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP government and was responsible for arresting the Director of Military Intelligence, among others. He commanded the Field Engineers Regiment based at Wajir Barracks, Teshie, in Accra. During the National Liberation Council era, he served as the administrative head for the Western Region in 1969 and helped prevent a strike at the Prestea State Farms Corporation.

After the abortive attempt in April 1967 to overthrow the NLC, Coker-Appiah led investigations that resulted in the public execution of the leaders. Under Colonel Acheampong, he first became Commissioner for Local Government, then served as Commissioner for Works and Housing from 1972 to 1974. In 1974 he was moved to the Brong-Ahafo region as Regional Commissioner.

He was removed from the NRC government on 30 April 1975 and later served as the military attaché to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.