Deputy Chief of Staff, Stan Dogbey, has disclosed that three hours have been allocated for the state funeral to honour victims of the August 6 helicopter crash, to be held on Friday, August 15, 2025.

At a press conference on Thursday, August 14, the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations provided an outline of how tomorrow’s state ceremony will be carried out. The service categorized into three folds will be conducted by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

“We would have the three burial services, during which period some tributes would be read, and we would have Qu’ran recitations during that period. And the second part would be the main funeral and burial service. The pre-burial will start at 7:30am and will continue to 9:00am.”

“We expect the Vice President to arrive at the funeral grounds at 8:50am in the morning, and that will be followed by the President at 9:00am, when the state service will begin. The service is programmed to last for approximately three hours, during which period we would take the biographies of the departed eight colleagues, parents, and siblings. After the biography we will take tributes from the widows and then also tributes from the children,” he added.

Tributes will also be read by senior government officials during the pre-burial period before 9:00am. Following the service, the remains of the other six victims will be taken to the military cemetery for interment at Tse Addo.

“And there as well, the GAF together with the churches of the six departed comrades, will take charge of the burial ceremony at the military cemetery,” he explained.

Mr Dogbey also revealed that arrangements have been made to provide buses to convey the families that would be heading to the military cemetery.

“The idea is to reduce the traffic en route to the cemetery and also manage the traffic at the cemetery. And so buses will be provided to the six families, and a few others who would be able to join will join,” he explained.

The government anticipates a large gathering for Friday’s state funeral. As such, Mr Dobge has entreated all who will make their way to the Black Star Square to behave in a manner that enhances decorum. He revealed measures that are being put in place by the government to ensure an incident-free and lawful state event.

“Because of the rather large number of people that will be expected tomorrow, a number of measures have been taken to ensure that we have a very solemn ceremony. So for the media that is here, you would have seen the ongoing set up. We are trying our best to provide as many chairs as we can to accommodate the thousands of people that we expect to join the various families and the government officials here for the service.”

“We are going to label the various canopies appropriately to accommodate those who will be coming. We entreat the public who would want to join us for the service to arrive early and collaborate with the protocol and security officials on ground to assist them to sit. We do not expect people to be crisscrossing the inner perimeter before and during the service. The inner perimeter is going to be locked out to mourners and the mourners are expected to remain under the canopies for the service. When you come in later today or early tomorrow morning, you would notice the labelling that will be on the various canopies indicating where people are supposed to sit.”

He further confirmed that “there will be a heavy security deployment, obviously not because the president and the vice president are here but also for the safety of all mourners that are going to be here.”

Mr Dogbey has urged all and sundry to collaborate with the security detail posted to ensure a successful ceremony.

“If you are driving in, you will be required to alight at a specific point and walk into the mourning zone and your vehicle can be parked at a designated car park. If you are driving yourself, then you would have to go and park and come and walk into the service area.”

To the media, the Deputy Chief of Staff, encouraged reporters to remain within the designated space provided as only photographers and videographers will be allowed to access the inner perimeter to take coverage.

“With relation to the media, I believe that a statement was issued earlier by the minister of state for government communication on arrangements that have been made for this service. And media houses and journalists were required to apply for accreditation.

"Media houses and journalists that applied and have been accordingly accredited are the only ones that will be allowed in the inner perimeter, which is designated as the special media zone for the service. And that accreditation is only for camera holders, video camera holders, and photographers; they are the only ones going to be allowed in the inner perimeter. Reporters and others are not going to be in the perimeter.”

Background

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) earlier reported that its airforce helicopter Z9, which took off on August 6th morning at 0912 hrs from Accra and headed for Obuasi, was off the radar. Hours later, the Chief of Staff Julius Debrah confirmed the unfortunate demise of the 8 individuals comprising three crew and five passengers.

The deceased are Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister for Defence; Alhaji Dr. Murtala Mohammed, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology; Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress; Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Director-General of NADMO; Squadron Leader Peter Anala of the Ghana Air Force; Flying Officer Tsum Ampadu of the Ghana Air Force; Sergeant Ernest Addo of the Ghana Air Force.

As part of the 3-day national mourning, the "Evening of Reflections and Memorials" took place at the Forecourt of the State House on Saturday, August 9. The event was opened to all Ghanaians, including the general public, friends, and family of the departed.

On the first day of mourning, which began Thursday, August 7, a public laying of flowers and lighting of candles at the Ceremonial Garden at the front of the Presidency took place to honour victims of the tragic GAF helicopter crash. Members of the public, families, and friends were present. President John Dramani Mahama and the Chief of Staff Julius Debrah shed tears while laying a wreath in honour of the eight victims.

The public laying of flowers and lighting of candles at the Ceremonial Garden at the front of the Presidency to honour victims of the tragic GAF helicopter crash continued on August 8. It was held at the Ceremonial Garden, Presidency. This provided more time and space for citizens unable to attend Day 1 to pay their respects and join the national act of mourning.

Last week, the samples of the remains of the deceased involved in the tragic Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region on August 6 were transported to South Africa for DNA analysis to aid in their identification.

Per reports, the autopsy and identification procedures were to have been carried out by the 37 Military Hospital; however, the conditions of the bodies have called for advanced forensic processes.

Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology, Alhaji Dr. Murtala Mohammed, and Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna—two out of the eight who perished in the August 6 helicopter crash—have been buried in accordance with Islamic Tradition, Custom and Practices. They were buried following the arrival of the DNA results on Saturday, August 9

On Sunday, August 10, Muslim Jannaza prayers were offered at the forecourt of State House. Following that, the deceased were buried at the Military Cemetery, Accra. The Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, led the prayers.

President John Dramani Mahama and Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin attended the prayers, which were also attended by Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, religious leaders, and institutional heads, among many other Ghanaians.

At the burial site, President Mahama used the opportunity to thank all who were present and showed their sympathy to the family and country as a whole. He also expressed gratitude to the family for their patience in ensuring the DNA tests are carried out to aid the identification of the two deceased.

“Today is not a day for talking; I want to thank you for your sympathy. I want to thank the two families for their patience. I want to thank the family for accepting my decision for the two brothers to be buried here. The families are free to visit anytime they want to do so,” he added.

Minister for Health Minister Akandoh and the Inspector General of Police, COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, on Sunday, August 10, received the DNA results for the remaining six deceased in the August 6 helicopter crash.

They received the results at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). Engaging the media, the Health Minister noted that the results have been received earlier due to the expedited efforts put in by the government.

The government is set to create a special fund to support the children of the victims of the August 6th Adansi helicopter crash incident.

President John Dramani Mahama made the announcement during an address on Tuesday, August 12, at Adenta, while attending the funeral rites for the late Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, one of the victims.

President Mahama emphasized the need to protect the children of the 8 fallen heroes who lost their lives while on a national assignment.

Probing of helicopter crash

Deputy Minister for Defence, Brogya Genfi, has indicated that the government of Ghana has formally requested international support in its quest to ascertain the cause of the airforce helicopter Z9.

Engaging the media on August 13, he stated that “We have requested international collaboration and have received a positive response.” “We also want to assure you that the Ghana Armed Forces has already begun investigations into the incident,” the Deputy Minister announced.

Brogya Genfi has assured the general public that all pieces of information discovered as part of investigations will be made known.

“And so we want to assure you, our Chiefs, that nothing will be covered; it will be transparent, and the public will know exactly what happened in the course of this tragic accident,” he said.

On the other hand, the Deputy Defence Minister has cautioned against dissemination of unconfirmed reports with regard to the death of the eight individuals involved in the helicopter crash.

“We also want to caution the media and some analysts who have been churning out misinformation and untruths about this whole incident. All I want to say is that Ghanaians should trust that the Ministry and the Ghana Armed Forces will be diligent in the investigations and transparent about it. Whatever was the cause will be made known to the people of Ghana, and we will take some lessons from that. I don’t want to say anything beyond that.”