It was meant to be another chapter in Ghana's war against galamsey. Instead, August 6, 2025, became one of the darkest days in the nation's recent history.
 
Eight of the country’s citizens, including senior government officials, the Defence and Environment ministers, tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash when they were travelling to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining. 
 
One year after the tragic incident, what lessons has the country learnt in the quest to mitigate against illegal mining that continues to ravage natural resources? 
 
Their death shook the core of the nation. A routine mission ended in unimaginable loss. 
 
For weeks, the country brooded over the sudden demise of eight of its gallant citizens, including cabinet ministers. 
 
A helicopter carrying men committed to national duty never completed its journey.  
 
The defence minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the environment minister, Murtala Mohammed, three other top government officials and three crew members never returned.
 
The painful demise left behind grieving families, shattered dreams, and a nation searching for meaning in tragedy.
 
Time has moved on. The pain has not.
 
For many Ghanaians, the echoes of that tragic day still linger.
 
The memory of those who perished continues to inspire solemn reflection on the national fight against illegal mining. 

 
The Departed 8 were on a national assignment in a renewed fight to eradicate illegal mining through the Responsible Community Mining and Skills Development Programme. 

The Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (RCOMSDEP) is a national initiative that empowers mining cooperatives and small-scale miners through training, innovation, and responsible practices.
 
The goal is to transform mining into a force for safe, inclusive, and environmentally responsible development.
 
But a year after its launch, has the country won the Galamsey war at all?  

Convener for the Coalition of anti-Galamsey campaigners, Ken Ashigbey, is distraught that the blood of these individuals has not been avenged.
 
“Dr Omane Boamah, and what I know that he stood for and the support he gave to the lands minister, unfortunately we have failed them. The best tribute to have given them was to make their blood count,” he said.
 
While the government touts its achievements in the Galamsey fight, many rivers snaking through the country remain dirty and forest reserves dotted with open pits. 
 
Across Ghana, in the Western, Western North, Ashanti, Central, Eastern Bono and Ahafo regions, illegal mining is eating life away from the lands, water bodies and other natural resources.  
 
Illegal miners continue to operate with impunity – excavating the earth crust close to roads and in forest covers while local authorities watch on. 
 
A recent video which surfaced on social media showed some youth in one of the coastal communities fetching and washing sand along the beach in search of gold.   
 
An aerial view of the country’s water bodies reveals major rivers, once crystal clear, suffocating with heavy siltation and discoloured effluent from the mining activities. 
 
Aquatic life and biodiversity are at the mercy of humans’ unrelenting quest for wealth. 
 
“We have to honour their memory by doing what is right for our fight against illegal,” environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor noted.
 
But perhaps the greatest tribute to these eight gallant souls will not be found in wreaths, monuments, or anniversary ceremonies.
 
It will be found in rivers that run clear again… in forests that breathe once more… and in a nation that finally finds the resolve to protect the land that sustains us all.
 
Their mission ended in the skies above Adansi. But the journey they began remains firmly on the ground—unfinished, and now entrusted to every Ghanaian.
 
Until the scars of galamsey fade from our rivers and our forests, August 6 will remain more than a day of mourning. It will stand as a solemn reminder that the price of inaction can be painfully high.
 
Rest in power, our fallen heroes.
 
Damirifa due… Mmarima mma.