Ghana mourns Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, whose life of public service ended abruptly at age 50 in the August 6 military helicopter crash.
The Defence Minister’s death silenced a voice that had shaped policy across health, communications, and national security.
Born in 1974, Omane Boamah’s leadership emerged early. As President of the National Union of Ghana Students and later a medical graduate from the University of Ghana, he blended academic rigor with civic duty.
His Washington University and London School of Economics training equipped him for transformative roles: investigating industrial spills as Deputy Environment Minister (2009–2012), coordinating Ghana’s AFCON 2013 campaign in Sports, and pioneering cyber-security frameworks as Communications Minister (2013–2017).
Between political chapters, his medical calling persisted. He triaged victims of the 2001 Accra Stadium disaster, volunteered with WHO vaccination drives, and returned to clinical work at Afrah International Hospital after the NDC’s 2016 election loss.
“He never stopped serving, stethoscope or legislation in hand,” recalled a colleague.
Appointed Defence Minister in February 2025, his tenure lasted just six months. He perished alongside seven others en route to an anti-illegal mining operation in Obuasi a mission emblematic of his hands-on governance.
The crash also claimed Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed and security coordinator Limuna Mohammed Muniru.
Omane Boamah’s legacy spans wards, cabinet rooms, and disaster zones. He championed tree-planting against climate change, established Ghana’s first cyber-response team, and insisted policy must heal, protect, and empower.
As Accra’s flags fly at half-mast, citizens remember the doctor-minister who asked: “If not us, who?”
