By:Michael Petit Mawugbe
One year after a devastating military helicopter crash shook the political and social fabric of Ghana, the nation pauses on Thursday to honour the eight lives lost in a disaster that claimed two senior cabinet ministers and plunged the country into profound mourning.
The crash, which occurred on August 6, 2025, involved a Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9EH utility helicopter traveling from the capital, Accra, toward the gold-mining hub of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region. The aircraft went down in the forested mountainous terrain of the Dampia Range near Antoakrom, killing all eight occupants on board.
Among the victims were Minister for Defence Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.
The high-profile delegation was enroute to an official event centered on national efforts to combat illegal mining—a critical policy portfolio for the administration. Also killed in the crash were Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice Chairman Dr. Samuel Sarpong, and disaster management official Samuel Aboagye, alongside three Ghana Air Force flight crew members: Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, Sergeant Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
The tragedy stunned the whole country, prompting three days of national mourning and a solemn state funeral at Independence Square in Accra, where thousands gathered to pay their final respects.
Now, one year on since the tragedy, the question many Ghanaians are asking is that has the fallen heroes been honored enough by way of combatting the galamsey menace?Your guess is a good as mine as the menace is now pervasive and being done with impunity now.
No day passes without a group of youth including women and children posting on social media how they are cashing in with galamsey operation.
Inspite of advocay by the likes of Ken Ashigbey, Arocha Ghana’s Daryl Bosso, and Awula Serwaa, the galamsey situation is on the ascendancy.
One can say on authority that, in short the crash made the government and public more determined to talk about ending galamsey, but it did not end it. If anything at all, with gold prices up almost 30%, the economic incentive has gotten stronger, and reports show operations have show operations have even moved into homes and at night to evade taskforces.
What government for that matter the Lands Minister must do is to be deliberate and intentional about the galamsey fight and resource state authorities to confront the menace head on rather than taking knee-jerk actions.
Until this is done and the galamsey fight won, holding a memorial service to honor the fallen heroes would just be a flash in a pan.
