The full report on the 6 August military helicopter crash will be submitted to the National Security Council on Monday, 10 November 2025, Minister for Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu (MP), has disclosed.
In a post listing the issues of importance to the government this week, Kwakye Ofosu wrote, “Very important week coming up. Tomorrow (November 10), the report on the August 6 Helicopter tragedy will be presented to the National Security Council.
“On Tuesday (11 November), the details of the report will be made public at a media briefing. On Wednesday (12 November), President Mahama will launch the “Nkoko Nkitinkiti” programme in Kumasi, and then on Thursday (13 November), the 2026 Budget, which brims with far-reaching policy initiatives, will be read in Parliament by the finance minister,” the post by Kwakye Ofosu read.
The crash involved a Harbin Z-9EH military helicopter (tail number GHF 631) operated by the Ghana Air Force. The aircraft departed from Accra at approximately 09:12 local time, bound for Obuasi in the Ashanti Region on an anti-illegal-mining mission, before losing radar contact and crashing in the Adansi Akrofuom District.
All eight people on board were killed. They included then Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Muniru Mohammed Limuna.
The rest were National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice-Chair Samuel Sarpong, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
Authorities have not yet released the cause of the crash. The National Security Council is expected to review the full investigation report and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
National Mourning
President John Dramani Mahama declared three days of national mourning following a military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight individuals, including two government ministers. The three days of mourning began on Thursday, August 7, 2025, and ended on Sunday, August 9, 2025.
In a statement issued late Wednesday (6 August), the president described the tragedy as “a national calamity” and suspended all his public engagements for the rest of the week. The Office of the Chief of Staff also directed that all flags be flown at half-mast until further notice.
Search and rescue teams led by national security operatives retrieved the bodies of the eight men after hours of combing the crash site. The tragedy sent shockwaves across the country and prompted an outpouring of grief as well as tributes from across the political spectrum, religious bodies, civil society organisations, and friends of Ghana abroad.
RTI Request
Last month, Member of Parliament for Tolon, Alhaji Habib Iddrisu, formally wrote to the president under Article 21(1)(f) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 18 of the Right to Information Act (Act 989), requesting either a full disclosure or an official update on the committee’s findings.
He stressed that the public has the right to know whether the helicopter involved was airworthy, what was contained in the recovered black box, and what caused the fatal crash.
The lawmaker who spoke on the Asaase Breakfast Show called on President John Mahama to make public the findings of the committee investigating, as he questioned the government’s silence since the committee’s 30-day deadline had elapsed.
“We have not been briefed as to what is going on — whether the committee has finished its work or submitted its report,” the MP said.
“This is a national tragedy, unprecedented in our history, and Ghanaians deserve to know exactly what happened.”
“If the black box has been recovered, we need to know what conversations or recordings were retrieved,” he said. “This will help guide future aviation safety and improve the Defence Ministry’s capacity.”
