BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI AND BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
The Committee overseeing the funeral for the victims of the Wednesday, August 6, 2025 tragic helicopter crash has outlined activities lined up for today’s state funeral.
To be conducted with full military honour, the funeral service will be in three parts – Bible and Qu’ran recitals, the funeral service, and burial.
The Committee has also outlined measures to ensure incident-free burial service with regard to security, road traffic and car parking management, and car security arrangements, among others.
Briefing the media in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Stan Dogbe, said the pre-burial programme would last between 07:30 and 09:00.
President John Dramani Mahama and his Vice, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Mr. Dogbe said, would arrive at 09:00am and 8:50am, respectively, at the Black Star Square for the main service to commence.
Expected to last three hours, the funeral service would feature readings of biographies of all eight victims of the crash and tributes from widows, children, government officials, friends, and institutional representatives, Mr. Dogbe said.
“After the service, the bodies of the six that are yet to be buried will be conveyed to the Military Cemetery at Tse Addo for burial. 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.
Bearing in mind the outpouring of affection since the incident and the expected number of mourners, Mr. Dogbe said measures had been put in place for a solemn and orderly ceremony.
“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. 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 the 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.”
He urged mourners to follow the laid-down protocols by avoiding unapproved areas to ensure a smooth programme.
Air Commodore Thomas Niifio Okai said the Ghana Armed Forces has the responsibility of moving “our fallen heroes” from the morgue to the Black Star Square and to the Military Cemetery after the funeral service.
The funeral service, he said, would be led by the chaplaincy of the GAF with support from civilian clergymen.
“We can all understand that burying six fallen heroes at the same time is not the same as burying one. There will be some unique innovations in the cemetery to ensure that our fallen heroes are accorded the highest state of respect possible,” Air Commodore Okai stated.
“We don’t want a situation where people will be walking at places that they are not expected to be. Let us all, at all times, ensure the highest form of discipline.”
Outlining the traffic arrangements, Chief Superintendent Alexander Kwaku Obeng, the Director of Education and Training at the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, said a good number of Police would be deployed to ensure free flow of traffic.
He said traffic from La towards the venue would be diverted to Oxford Street; Lokko Street will be diverted to Independence Avenue around the National Theatre, and those coming from the Jamestown area on the John Evans Atta Mills High street would be diverted to the Liberation Road to access other routes in the capital.
Chief Supt. Obeng said the Ghana Police Service has designated car parks around the ministry, stadium, State House, Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, and Black Star Square to accommodate vehicles that would come around.
He said recovery trucks and towing vehicles would be deployed to tow away abandoned or broken-down vehicles to Central MTTD at Kinbu for collection.
Expected to be interred today are Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence; Dr. Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chair of the NDC; Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Coordinator of NADMO; Squadron Leader Peter Bafeni Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
Two of the victims, Alhaji Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, and Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru, Vice Chair of the NDC were interred on Sunday after Muslim rites.
Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh