Ghana Mourns as Defence, Environment Ministers Die in Helicopter Crash.

By Caroline Ameh

Ghana has been thrown into mourning following the tragic deaths of two key cabinet members Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed in a fatal helicopter crash on Wednesday morning.

The Ghanaian presidency confirmed the incident, revealing that no one on board the ill-fated military aircraft survived. According to the Ghana Armed Forces, the helicopter, which took off from Accra at approximately 9:00 am en route to Obuasi, lost radar contact shortly after departure. The aircraft was carrying three crew members and five passengers.

The crash also claimed the lives of Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Minister of Agriculture, as well as Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

In an official statement, Presidential Chief of Staff Julius Debrah said, “The president and the government extend their heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of our fallen comrades and the servicemen who sacrificed their lives in service to the country.”

Dr. Boamah, a trained medical doctor, was serving as defence minister during a time of heightened security concerns along Ghana’s northern border with Burkina Faso, a region increasingly threatened by jihadist activity. His past roles included communications minister and deputy minister for the environment during former President John Mahama’s earlier administration from 2012 to 2017.

Muhammed, who was leading Ghana’s efforts on environmental sustainability and climate action, also played a prominent role in regional science and technology initiatives.

Boamah had recently returned from a diplomatic mission to Burkina Faso in May, amid Ghana’s cautious engagement with military-led governments in neighboring countries such as Mali and Niger. He was also finalizing a memoir on the late former president John Atta Mills titled “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy.”

As the nation reels from the loss, President Mahama has canceled all official duties for the day, and national flags are to be flown at half-mast in honor of the victims.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by military authorities.