The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has paid a deeply heartfelt tribute to the late Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Ghana’s Defence Minister, who tragically died in the recent military helicopter crash.

In an emotional interview with JoyNews, Prof Gyampo recalled a powerful personal moment that forever tied his family to the late minister — not through politics, but through an act of medical compassion.

Prof Gyampo recounted that 18 years ago, his infant son fell gravely ill at just six months old. While invigilating an exam at the University of Ghana, he received a distressing call: his baby had been rushed to 37 Military Hospital.

“I have had a long-standing relationship with him,” Gyampo shared. “He is a personal medical doctor to one of my children that I thought was going to die.”

At the hospital, Gyampo met Dr Omane Boamah, who was then practicing medicine. The doctor offered reassuring words that stuck with him to this day.
“He assured me that so long as God lives, so long as he remains a professional doctor, the boy will live,” he said. “Today, the boy is 18 years old.”

To honour the life-saving intervention, Prof Gyampo shared a touching tradition he’s maintained ever since: sending a photo of his son to Dr Boamah each year on his birthday.
“I take a picture and send it to him, telling him that this is your son,” he said. “This June, I sent him a picture, and we were laughing about it. He would tell me the boy has a bright future.”

Dr Boamah’s influence didn’t end with medicine. Prof Gyampo revealed that the late minister also played a pivotal role in his decision to serve in the current government.
“He was one of the reasons why I accepted the offer,” he noted. “Anytime there was a programme, he would call me.”

Dr Edward Omane Boamah was among eight individuals who perished in the tragic Sikaman military helicopter crash. Others who lost their lives included:

  • Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Minister of Environment

  • Dr Samuel Sarpong, NDC Vice Chairman

  • Three military officers

The incident has sent shockwaves across the country, leaving many mourning the loss of not only statesmen but humanitarians who touched lives beyond public office.