The former Chief of Staff during the Rawlings administration, Nana Ato Dadzie, has disclosed that the in the space of 10 years there were 77 attempts on the life of then-President.

He said the military dictator who returned the country to democratic rule suffered incessant coups from political opponents to remove him from office.

According to the former Attorney General who worked closely with former President Rawlings, the attempted coups and foiled assassination attempts created an atmosphere of insecurity at the castle.

Nana Ato Dadzie told Joy News' Latif Iddrisu that the situation left Mr Rawlings with no option than to distance himself from his wife and children to insulate them.

"It was a difficult time for us especially in the first 10 years as the politics then was so fierce. People simply wanted to remove Rawlings from power. There were over 77 attempts to eliminate him,’’ Nana Ato Dadzie said.

The UN Consultant on Peacebuilding and Political Transition added, "You can understand what this will mean for his family. He literally didn’t have a family and I sympathised with his wife and children at the time.

"We were at the centre of the major attack at the castle and we suffered for it,’’ he said.

Nana Ato Dadzie also recounted how they worked for three years without a salary and had to survive on coffee over the period because there was no food.