The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has reflected on the cruel irony that many of the eight men who perished in the August 6, 2025, helicopter crash had, only days earlier, stood alongside the nation to mourn the passing of Kobina Ade Coker and Sam Pee Yalley.
“None of them imagined then that their end would follow hard on the heels of Ade Coker and Sam Yalley,” he said. “This cruel twist of fate has left me heartbroken and heavy with sorrow.”
He praised the fallen: Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Hon. Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, Dr Samuel Sarpong, Mr Samuel Aboagye, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, as the embodiment of Ghana’s highest aspirations.
He said they were visionary ministers whose policies sowed seeds of progress, technocrats whose expertise steered the nation’s course, a parliamentarian whose insight shaped debate, and a courageous helicopter crew who served with unwavering dedication until their final breaths.
Quoting Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to realise the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom”, Mr Bagbin said these men were more than their titles.
They were loving hands that cradled children, wise voices that guided families, charitable spirits that sustained communities, and compassionate hearts that uplifted the country. “Though the heavens have claimed their mortal forms, their legacy remains etched in the lives they transformed and the hope they inspired,” he noted.
The Speaker urged the nation to draw strength and wisdom from the way these men lived and the dignity with which they left. “Even in their sudden departure, they have given us a powerful reminder: life is fragile, tomorrow is never promised, and every moment matters,” he said.
To the bereaved families, Mr Bagbin extended not only the condolences of Parliament but “the collective embrace of a nation united in grief.”
He prayed that the Almighty would console those left behind and grant the fallen “a fanfare befitting their service” in the afterlife. “Rest in peace, faithful servants of the nation,” he said.
