THE NOBISTOR AFFAIR

  THE NOBISTOR AFFAIR - THE SECRET 1986 PLOT TO REMOVE JERRY RAWLINGS FROM POWER 

Many Ghanaians know about the many coup attempts against Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, but few people remember the strange and secretive international operation known as the Nobistor Affair  a failed mercenary mission allegedly designed to overthrow the PNDC government in 1986.

By 1986, Jerry Rawlings and the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) had been ruling Ghana for almost five years after the December 31, 1981 coup. While some people supported the military government, others strongly opposed it, especially exiled Ghanaian dissidents who believed Ghana had moved away from democracy.

One of the main figures behind this opposition was Godfrey Osei, a Ghanaian dissident living in the United States. Interestingly, this was not his first attempt to challenge Rawlings. He had earlier been linked to a failed coup attempt against the PNDC in 1983. Still determined to remove Rawlings from power, he allegedly began organizing another mission this time with foreign fighters.

To carry out the operation, a group of eight American military veterans, most of them Vietnam War veterans, were recruited. The team was led by John Dee Early, an experienced soldier. The plan was ambitious and dangerous: travel secretly to Ghana, link up with armed Ghanaian dissidents, storm key government installations in Accra, and overthrow the PNDC regime.

In early 1986, the operation officially began. A Panamanian-flagged cargo ship called Nobistor was loaded in Argentina with a huge supply of military equipment, weapons, and ammunition reportedly worth over $1 million. Reports suggested the ship carried nearly six tons of arms, enough to support a major armed attack.

According to the alleged plan, the Nobistor was expected to sail toward the West African coast where the mercenaries would meet about 80 armed Ghanaian dissidents waiting to join the mission. From there, they were expected to land near Accra and launch an attack aimed at removing Jerry Rawlings from power.

However, before the plan could succeed, trouble started. Ghanaian intelligence reportedly got wind of the operation even before the ship reached Africa. Realizing that the mission might already be exposed, those behind the plot allegedly ordered the ship to change direction and head back toward South America.

Things became worse when the ship developed mechanical problems near the coast of Brazil. On March 14, 1986, the Nobistor illegally anchored near Itaipu, east of Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Federal Police later boarded the ship and made a shocking discovery a massive cache of illegal weapons hidden onboard.

The arrests quickly followed. In June 1986, Brazilian courts sentenced John Dee Early and the ship’s captain, Eduardo Gilardoni, to five years in prison. The remaining American mercenaries were handed four-year jail terms. Surprisingly, some of the arrested men later escaped from prison and reportedly made their way back to the United States.

The case later created major international controversy. Some of the arrested Americans claimed they believed they were on a secret operation approved by the CIA and the United States government. America denied any involvement, but the allegations fueled suspicions in Ghana that foreign powers were trying to destabilize the PNDC government.

For Jerry Rawlings and the PNDC administration, the Nobistor Affair became another example used to show that enemies both inside and outside Ghana were constantly plotting to overthrow the military government.

Ghana’s political history has truly seen some unbelievable moments 

Have you ever heard of the Nobistor Affair before?