Ghana in Mourning as Defence, Environment Ministers Die in Military Helicopter Crash

Ghana has been thrown into mourning following the deaths of two senior cabinet ministers in a tragic military helicopter crash on Wednesday. The accident, which claimed all lives on board, involved a Ghana Air Force chopper that vanished from radar hours earlier.

The Presidency confirmed that Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the eight people who perished in the crash.

“The president and government extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” said President John Mahama’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.

Boamah, a medical doctor and seasoned public servant, had only recently assumed the role of defence minister earlier this year, after Mahama’s swearing-in in January. His tenure came at a critical time, as Ghana increased military vigilance over growing jihadist threats along its northern border with Burkina Faso.

While Ghana has so far escaped direct attacks from Sahel-based militants, intelligence sources have warned of rising arms trafficking and cross-border infiltration. Boamah was leading these security efforts, and had in May led a high-level delegation to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for diplomatic talks.

Before becoming defence minister, Boamah had served as communications minister during Mahama’s earlier presidency from 2012 to 2017, and previously as deputy environment minister.

Muhammed, who was heading the ministry of environment, science and technology, was also a prominent figure in Mahama’s government.

According to military authorities, the ill-fated aircraft took off from Accra shortly after 9:00 a.m. en route to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region. Onboard were three crew members and five passengers. The crash site was later located, but by then, there were no survivors.

Among the dead were Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and a former agriculture minister, and Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Boamah, known for his academic and political contributions, had been preparing to release a book titled “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy”, a tribute to the late President John Atta Mills.

In honour of the victims, President Mahama suspended all official engagements, and all national flags are to fly at half-staff, Debrah said.