Background
Roger Felli was born at Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Roger Felli was born at Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Ghana army in 1963. He rose through the ranks after attending courses in Ghana and the United Kingdom. He was appointed the Commissioner for the Works and Housing Ministry in the new government.
He later also held the portfolios of the Trade and Industry Ministry and the Finance and Economic Planning Ministry respectively.
Colonel (then Major) Roger Felli was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1975. He held this position till the coup d"état of June 4, 1979 which brought the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) led by Fairlight
Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings to power.
Colonel Roger Felli was one of six senior military officers who had previously served in government, executed by firing squad at the Teshie Range at Teshie, at the outskirts of Accra. The executions were ordered by the AFRC and carried out on June 26, 1979.
The other officers executed with him were two former heads of state of Ghana, General Fred Akuffo and Lieutenant General Akwasi Afrifa and three other military officers, namely Air Vice Marshal Boakye, Major General R.E.A. Kotei and Rear Admiral Joy Amedume.
They were buried in unmarked graves at Adoagyiri near Nsawam in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
He is also reported to have said that the spirit behind the Ghana"s motto "Freedom and Justice" was still a guiding principle in the conduct of the nation"s domestic affairs He is reported to have said in addition that;
He was reburied at Navrongo, his hometown, after traditional and Catholic rites.
Quotations: "We have the right to know what happened, as a nation, we must ensure that never again will we allow such acts and utter disrespect for the sanctity of life to recur in our country.".
After the overthrow of Doctor Kofi Abrefa Busia"s Progress Party government on January 13, 1972, the then Major Felli became a member of the ruling National Redemption Council led by General (then Colonel) Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.