Ghana Appoints Acting Ministers After Deadly Military Helicopter Crash Claims Eight Lives
In the wake of a devastating military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of two senior Cabinet members and six others, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has appointed acting ministers to fill the critical vacancies in the defense and environment portfolios.
In an official statement released Thursday, the Presidency confirmed the appointment of Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson as Acting Minister of Defense, while Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, was named Acting Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. Both officials will retain their current roles while assuming the new positions “until further notice.”
The emergency appointments follow the tragic deaths of Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, who perished in a military helicopter crash on Wednesday morning.
According to the Ghana Armed Forces, the Z-9 Air Force helicopter departed from the capital, Accra, en route to Obuasi, but lost contact mid-flight and later crashed in the Ashanti Region.
All eight passengers and crew aboard were confirmed dead, including the two ministers, military personnel, and aides. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
In response to the tragedy, President Mahama has declared three days of national mourning, ordered flags to fly at half-mast nationwide, and suspended all official engagements for the remainder of the week.
The incident has prompted an outpouring of grief and condolences from regional leaders, the African Union, and the United Nations, all of whom lauded the contributions of the late ministers to Ghana’s development.
In a striking development, it was reported that President Mahama narrowly avoided being aboard the ill-fated flight.
He had been scheduled to attend a mining program launch alongside the ministers but instead sent them in his place while attending a pastors’ retreat in the Central Region.
This tragic event marks one of Ghana’s worst aviation disasters involving sitting government officials in recent memory.
