Tragic: 2 Ghana ministers die in helicopter crash

Ghana’s defence and environment ministers were killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday, the Ghanaian presidency said, hours after the armed forces reported a chopper carrying three crew and five passengers dropped off the radar.

Edward Omane Boamah became President John Mahama’s defence minister earlier this year shortly after Mahama’s swearing-in in January.

Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed was serving as the minister of environment, science and technology.

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Everyone onboard was killed in the accident, authorities said.

“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 Mahama’s chief of staff Julius Debrah.

Boamah was helming Ghana’s defence ministry at a time when jihadist activity across its northern border in Burkina Faso has become increasingly restive.

While Ghana has so far avoided a jihadist spillover from the Sahel — unlike neighbours Togo and Benin — observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of militants from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base.

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A medical doctor by training, Boamah’s career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama’s previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for environment.

The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00 am. It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital.

The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were aboard, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them.

Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former agriculture minister, was among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress party.

As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — all ruled by juntas who have broken with the ECOWAS west African regional bloc — Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May.

He had been set to release a book titled “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy”, about former president John Atta Mills, who died in 2012.

All flags were to be flown at half-staff, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day.

President Of Ghana

John Mahama is the President of Ghana. His first term in government was when he inherited the government of President John Atta Mills who died in office in 2012.

Mahama has remained as the leader of the National Democratic Congress since the death of Atta Mills. After winning the 2012 Ghanaian general election, he got to form his own government.

He lost the 2016 Ghanaian general election and went into opposition for the following eight years.

In the 2024 Ghanaian general election, he beat the New Patriotic Party candidate who was also the incumbent vice president of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia to become the president once again.

Mahama promised to reduce the size of the government in comparison to the outgoing one led by Nana Akufo-Addo and cap the number of ministers at 60.

42 nominees of Mahama were presented to the Appointments Committee of the Parliament of Ghana for vetting.

The first two batches of six ministers completed their vetting on 21 January 2025 and were sworn in the next day by Mahama.

The next two batches of a further six ministers completed their vetting on 23 January 2025.

This included Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, MP for Krowor who missed the swearing in ceremony for personal reasons.

This brought to 11 the number of ministers who had been cleared to start work.

Following their vetting, a further six ministers and eight regional ministers were sworn in on 30 January by President Mahama. On 7 February 2025, an additional 14 ministers were sworn in bringing the total number of ministers in Mahama’s government to 42.