JUST-IN: Ghana’s Defence, Environment Ministers Killed In Helicopter Crash

Two Ghanaian cabinet ministers died in a military helicopter crash that occurred on Wednesday.
The victims include the Defence Minister, Edward Omane Boamah and the Environment Minister, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, who were among the eight people killed in the tragic incident.

According to the country’s presidency, the Ghana Armed Forces had earlier reported that an air force helicopter carrying three crew members and five passengers went missing from radar after taking off from Accra shortly after 9a.m.

The aircraft was en route to Obuasi, a town northwest of the capital when the accident occurred.

Authorities later confirmed that all eight onboard lost their lives 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 Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to President John Mahama.

Boamah, a trained medical doctor, was appointed Defence Minister earlier this year following Mahama’s inauguration in January.

His tenure came at a time of heightened regional security concerns, particularly with the growing threat of jihadist movements across Ghana’s northern border with Burkina Faso.

Although Ghana has largely avoided direct attacks, analysts warned of increased arms trafficking and militant infiltration from the Sahel.

Boamah had previously served as Minister of Communications during Mahama’s 2012–2017 presidency and was also a former Deputy Minister for Environment.

Other victims of the ill-fated aircraft include the Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Muniru Mohammed who was a former Minister of Agriculture.

Also is the Vice Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Sarpong, who also died in the crash.

The late Environment Minister, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, was overseeing portfolios related to science and technology.

Boamah recently led a Ghanaian delegation to Burkina Faso in May as part of the country’s diplomatic engagement with Sahelian neighbours ruled by military juntas, including Mali and Niger.

He was also preparing to launch a new book titled: “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy,” a tribute to the late President John Atta Mills, who died in office in 2012.

President Mahama has suspended all official engagements, and directed national flags are to be flown at half-staff in honour of the deceased.