‘Stop galamsey to honour crash victims’ — Sammy Awuku tells gov’t

The Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has said the government’s greatest tribute to the victims of the August 6, 2025 helicopter crash would be a renewed commitment to ending illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Mr Awuku argued that addressing the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining would better honour the memory of Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and the other victims who lost their lives in the crash.

Speaking after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presented a petition to the presidency on Thursday, August 6, 2026, as part of its “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration, the Akuapem North MP dismissed suggestions that the protest should have been postponed because it coincided with a National Inter-Faith Memorial Service held in honour of the crash victims.

According to him, the focus should instead be on issues that the deceased would have cared about, including protecting Ghana’s natural resources from illegal mining activities.

“The biggest honour this government could have given to the lives that we lost on that fateful day was to stop galamsey. Today, galamsey is worse off,” Mr Awuku said.

He added that Dr Omane Boamah, if he were alive, would not have supported what he described as the continued degradation of Ghana’s lands and water bodies through illegal mining.

“I don’t think that if Omane Boamah were alive today he would have supported the vulgar degradation of our lands,” he said.

Mr Awuku maintained that the government could have demonstrated its commitment to honouring the late Defence Minister, Dr Murtala Mohammed, and the other victims by intensifying efforts to combat illegal mining.

“If this government wanted to honour the memory of Dr Edward Omane Boamah, my brother Murtala Mohammed, and the other lives that perished, they should have doubled their effort in combating and stopping galamsey,” he added.

His comments come on the first anniversary of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight people, including Dr Omane Boamah and Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.

The Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter crashed in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region on August 6, 2025, while travelling from Accra to the Ashanti Region on official duty.

A National Inter-Faith Memorial Service was held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), on Thursday to commemorate the lives of the victims and reflect on their contributions to national service.

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