Renowned Ghanaian playwright, author, motivational speaker, and artistic director at Roverman Productions, Ebo Whyte, has delivered a deeply personal tribute to the late Defence Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, in the wake of Ghana’s tragic military helicopter crash on 6 August 2025.
Whyte captured the nation’s collective grief in his heartfelt Facebook post, beginning with the moment he learned of the crash and Dr Omane Boamah was named as one of the occupants: “Wednesday afternoon, my intercom rang… she said, ‘Uncle, breaking news, a military helicopter has crashed on its way to Obuasi.’ The news hit me hard..… Time froze for me.”
He reflected on a memorable encounter with Dr Omane Boamah at a book launch for “When Men Slept,” where he proposed helping to edit and publish the minister’s memoirs. Dr Omane Boamah declined, not to reject the offer, but to protect Whyte’s apolitical credibility, remarking that collaborating could “taint” his impartial voice. Whyte described: “How rare it is for a politician to show such selflessness..… He didn’t want to exploit my voice. He wanted to protect it. That moment earned him my deepest respect.”
The veteran playwright went on to assert just how exceptional the minister was, not merely as a public servant, but as a man of character and promise. “Ghana has lost a true son. A leader. A potential president in Omane Boamah.”
The Crash That Shook Ghana
On the morning of 6 August 2025, a Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter took off from Accra at approximately 9:12 a.m., heading to Obuasi for a national assignment aimed at addressing illegal mining known locally as galamsey.
It disappeared from radar and was later found crashed and engulfed in flames in the dense forest of Adansi Akrofuom District, in the Ashanti Region.
