Ghana Mourns: Tears over a Music Legend, and a Tragic Wednesday in August.
Ghana’s mourning in the last few days has been heightened by a devastating helicopter crash that has taken the lives of two ministers among eight persons
Ghana has been in mourning since the start of August 2025. The streets, bars, markets, shops, retail centres and restaurants have been filled with the sounds of the music of Daddy Lumba, one of the country’s finest artists loved by people from all walks of life. Daddy Lumba, formally Charles Kwadwo Fosu, has produced constant hits that have served multiple purposes, from reflections about life and death, love, hatred, and the dynamics of social relationships, honouring people dearest to his heart, to religious songs in appreciation of the supernatural.
As the state and the bereaved family prepare for the farewell in Lumba’s journey to the ancestors, Wednesday, 6 August 2025, heightened the country’s grief as eight of its public and security officials were lost in a helicopter crash in the line of duty.
Two ministers, the Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, and the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Alhaji Dr Murtala Muhammed, were among eight persons whose remains have been charred in this devastating disaster. The other six persons are: Alhaji Murinu Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator, Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to Obuasi East Constituency, Samuel Sarpong, a former Mayor of Kumasi, the country’s second largest city, and a vice chairman of the NDC; and three crew members, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Mane-Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
The eight persons were aboard a Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9 travelling to an event in Obuasi, Ghana’s gold hub in the Ashanti Region. The meeting was to explore more workable means to regulate artisanal mining to prevent the ongoing destructive outcomes of illegal small-scale mining and ensure that the 40 per cent contribution of small-scale mining activities to the country’s annual gold output is not lost. The launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme, rCOMSDEP, was to be attended by high-powered delegations from different sectors of the country reflective of the complex issues that have surrounded small scale mining activities in Ghana including security (defence and interior), lands and natural resources, environment, and executives of various agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Gold Board. The flagship initiative is designed to transform Ghana's artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. These sons of the land lost their lives in the line of this noble duty.
The helicopter crashed in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Asante region. This accident occurred a little over a year after a military helicopter crashed on March 19, 2024, near Bonsukrom, a town in Ghana’s Western Region. In the previous crash, the country was fortunate not to record any fatalities.
The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, made an official announcement of the tragic news in a press conference on Wednesday, 6 August 2025. That day will remain a tragic one, a day of mourning that heightened the sorrows of a country that had lost one of its musical voices, by taking away its public officials in some of the key sectors committed to a reset agenda and transformation of the country.
Ghana’s president was also scheduled to attend the meeting but reportedly cancelled the trip for another pressing engagement. Other heads of agencies and ministries travelled via road to the event.
Pambazuka News expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the people of Ghana for these huge losses.
May the departed souls rest with the ancestors.