While Kwame Nkrumah was on a state visit to North Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a violent coup d’état orchestrated by the national military and police forces.
The coup, led by Joseph Arthur Ankrah, was code-named “Operation Cold Chop” and resulted in the formation of the National Liberation Council, which ruled as a military government for three years.
Unaware of the events back home, Nkrumah only learned of the coup upon his arrival in China. Following the overthrow, he remained in Beijing for four days, where Premier Zhou Enlai received him with courtesy and respect.
