Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ken Ashigbey, has placed moral responsibility for the deaths of the eight persons who perished in the August 6, 2025, helicopter crash on politically exposed individuals engaged in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM on Friday, August 8, 2025, the Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey urged Ghanaians to view the tragedy as a pivotal moment in the fight against illegal mining.
“We should not just deport galamseyers but ensure they pay the full fines stipulated and serve the complete sentences prescribed by law. We need to send a strong signal that Ghana is closing down this criminal business.
“All those politically exposed people who are involved in galamsey, the blood of these eight is on your hands. You’d better have a change of heart, repent, and step out of it. Enough is enough,” he declared.
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Ashigbey stressed the need for accountability by prosecuting all complicit individuals and called for a united national front against the menace.
The fatal crash occurred on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.
The victims included Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah; Environment Minister Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed; Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Muniru Mohammed; former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye; NDC Vice Chairman Samuel Sarpong; and three military crew members, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
They were traveling on a Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter to Obuasi, a known illegal mining hotspot, when the aircraft went off radar.
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A state funeral is scheduled for Friday, August 15, 2025. Due to the condition of the remains, samples have been sent to South Africa for DNA testing to assist with identification.
GA/MA
Helicopter Crash: Remains of victims flown to South Africa for further DNA analysis:
