Media personality and gender advocate, Josephine Oppong-Yeboah, has urged the government to immortalise the memory of the eight Ghanaians who perished in the recent helicopter crash by ending illegal mining and establishing a forensic facility in their honour.

She argued that since the victims were on a mission related to galamsey, halting illegal mining would be a fitting tribute.

Describing the incident as a “tragedy of national scale” that pricks the conscience of all Ghanaians, she lamented that illegal mining was not only destroying the environment but also claiming the country’s finest brains.

Background

Around midday on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, the Ghana Armed Forces announced that a Ghana Air Force Z-9 helicopter carrying eight people had gone missing after taking off from Accra.

On board were three crew members and five passengers. The aircraft departed the capital at 9:12 a.m. en route to Obuasi but went off radar shortly after.

At 2:30 p.m., the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, confirmed that the helicopter had crashed in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region, killing all eight onboard. The victims included two serving ministers of state and military officers.

They were Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence; Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology; Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Minister of Food and Agriculture; Mr Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and former Metropolitan Chief Executive of Kumasi; Mr Samuel Aboagye, former parliamentary candidate; Squadron Leader Peter Abaafemi Anala; Flying Officer Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

Honouring the Dead

Ms Oppong-Yeboah said naming a national edifice after the victims would be a great sign of respect for their service and sacrifice.

She commended the government for facilitating DNA testing outside the country to identify the deceased but stressed that building a forensic facility in their name would be a lasting tribute, referencing the statue erected for Major Mahama, who died in the line of duty.

She also urged Ghanaians to reflect on the environmental devastation caused by illegal mining, warning that if left unchecked, its damage would far exceed current levels.

Josephine Oppong-Yeboah expressed appreciation to the people of Sikaman for helping locate the crash site and assisting security agencies in recovering the bodies.

However, she condemned some media houses for filming and sharing images of the charred bodies, describing the act as a violation of Ghanaian cultural values regarding respect for the dead.

She called on the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to call out media outlets that engaged in such acts to prevent future occurrences.

“We must not lose our culture for eyeballs on our stories,” Ms Oppong-Yeboah stressed.