A Dark History

The Osu Military Cemetery in Accra is officially recognized as Ghana’s principal burial ground for soldiers and service members. Established during the Second World War, it contains a Commonwealth section where graves of Allied soldiers from the 1940s are preserved under international oversight. This part of the cemetery is meant to stand as a permanent reminder of the sacrifices made during World War II.

But beyond the Commonwealth plots lies another section of the cemetery that tells a very different story — one of erasure, neglect, and troubling contradictions. During a recent investigation, I documented evidence that challenges the cemetery’s official narrative:

• Pre-independence children’s burials (1950s): Despite its designation as a military cemetery, several graves clearly belong to children, dating back to the years before Ghana’s independence in 1957.

• Erased colonial graves: In one aligned row, more than fifty graves from the colonial era show deliberate removal of names and insignia. These are not weathered stones — the erasures are systematic and unmistakable.

• Overwritten plots: In at least one case, a Ghanaian major, born after World War I and buried in 2000, was interred directly over an older grave. A new slab was placed on top of the erased colonial grave, effectively overwriting its identity.

This evidence reveals that the Osu Military Cemetery is not simply a site of remembrance. It is also a site of erasure, where colonial-era graves have been stripped of their names, children’s burials coexist with military plots, and modern burials overwrite the past. The deliberate removal of insignia and inscriptions represents a profound loss of historical record, while the overwritten graves raise serious questions about oversight and respect for the dead.

Officially, the cemetery is meant to preserve Ghana’s military heritage and its colonial past. In practice, however, the evidence points to a cemetery where graves have been altered, identities erased, and history rewritten under official watch. Whether these acts were sanctioned, neglected, or concealed remains unanswered — but the photographic evidence is undeniable.

The story of Osu Military Cemetery is therefore not only about honoring the fallen, but also about confronting the uncomfortable truth of how memory and history have been managed — or mismanaged — in Accra.