President John Mahama, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and Minister for the Interior Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, were among several high-profile figures who narrowly avoided boarding the military helicopter that crashed into a mountain near Sikaman in the Ashanti Region, killing eight people.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, was also slated to be on the ill-fated flight.

Aside from Mr Nketiah, popularly known as “General Mosquito”, who has personally spoken about his escape, others have recounted how President Mahama, Mr Muntaka and Sammy Gyamfi, were spared from the tragedy.

For President Mahama, the dramatic twist was relayed by the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Ghana, Rev Dr Stephen Y. Wengam, who recalled how last-minute changes spared the president’s life.

“People have been calling and posting on social media and saying Assemblies of God, thank you for saving our president’s life. It’s not about the clapping.

“Listen carefully. We did nothing except that. That’s why the speaker said, You must be prophetic. You don’t need to be a prophet.”

Rev. Wengam recalled receiving a call the previous week from the President’s Secretary, Dr. Callistus Mahama.

“When last week, I received a call from the President’s Secretary [Dr Callistus Mahama] that he will not be able to come today, and that he had been invited to la cote to be the special guest of honour for their independence [Day celebration] and that His Excellency had asked the Vice President and his wife [Lordina Mahama] to come in this place. I said, Thank you, Dr Callistus.”

But he was not at peace with the development.

“Then I called Reverend Bawa and said, ‘Reverend Bawa, the President said he can’t make it, and I don’t accept it. Go mobilise the prayer team and pray and reverse it. Rev Bawa is my witness. Where is he asking? I told him. I said, I don’t accept it.”

Things escalated on Monday, August 4, 2025.

“Then Monday, when we arrived, I was a bit late. I was just coming, and the First Lady called me very angry. Said, ‘Pastor, President says that he’s going to la Côte d’Ivoire, but no, we are coming for this program. We have planned for this program long ago. No way’. It was a battle on the phone. Battle on the phone. She said, ‘Don’t accept it’.”

While still on the call with the First Lady, the President himself attempted to reach him.

“I was talking with her when the President was calling. I said, Mama, the president is calling. It’s okay. I’m going off. I don’t agree’. So the President explained. I said, ’Your Excellency, I understand, your will be done’.”

Rev. Wengam continued, “Then, when I was leading prayer, I saw Mama calling again. I couldn’t receive the call. Then she sent a text and said, ‘We are coming on Wednesday’, so the president can travel on Thursday. So that was how it was averted.”

He reflected on what could have happened if plans had not changed. “If he had come today, he would have travelled yesterday.”

In closing, Rev. Wengam offered a sobering message to pastors.

“So when the speaker says, We must be prophetic, every pastor, and this comes by being very prayerful, spending time hours before the daily, not that you pray on Monday, you don’t pray Wednesday, when you’re going to preach on Saturday, then you start fasting off.”

The NDC Chairman spoke about the unpredictability of life and the futility of questioning fate, framing the tragedy within a larger spiritual context, urging his audience to find solace in their faith.

General Mosquito revealed that he was originally scheduled to be on the helicopter that crashed, killing eight people, including high-ranking ministers of state.

Addressing a gathering after the incident, Mr. Nketiah disclosed the shocking detail of a last-minute change of plans, which resulted in Dr Sarpong taking his place to represent the NDC at the launch of the Responsible Co-operative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP) in Obuasi. 

“Allah does what he wants. I was supposed to be on the flight, and last minute, I directed my vice chairman, who is Dr Sarpong, that he should go and stand in for the party, and he accepted it,” he stated.

“In your human ways, you may be thinking that if I had not sent Sarpong, maybe he would be here. But who knows? God might have decided that if this is his time, he will be knocked down by some trotro in Accra. So, we don’t question what Allah wants to do… So, in all things, we give thanks to him,” he said.

His words offered a moment of reflection, suggesting that while the loss is immense, the outcome might have been even more devastating.

“Maybe if it didn’t happen, something worse might have happened,” he added, a statement that has provided a measure of comfort to many grieving Ghanaians.

Dr. Samuel Sarpong’s death has created a significant void within the NDC, as he was a key figure and the party’s Vice Chairman.

His willingness to “stand in” for Chairman Nketiah has been viewed as a final act of selfless service to the party and the nation.

In the case of the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, the Deputy Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Fuseini Donkor, revealed that he would have died with the Minister of Defence, Edward Omane Boamah, but the Finance Minister, Dr. Ato Forson.

Speaking on TV3 NewDay on Thursday, August 7, 2025, Mr Donkor revealed that Muntaka was originally the fifth passenger on the flight alongside Defence Minister.

However, the Finance Minister, insisted that Muntaka should stay in Accra for an urgent meeting with immigration officials.

“But for our Finance Minister, Muntaka would have been on the helicopter,” Mr Donkor recounted. “Muntaka was the fifth person on board with Dr Omane Boamah; then Ato dragged him out. Ato said, ‘No, you can’t go because we have a meeting with the immigration guys, and I need you there.’”

At that point, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, replaced Muntaka on the helicopter.

Mr Donkor also disclosed that the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, was initially scheduled to be on the flight, but the helicopter’s capacity restricted the number of passengers to five.

“Sammy Gyamfi was also supposed to be on board… but the helicopter could only take five passengers,” he said.

The Herald’s information is that the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, was initially scheduled to board Africa World Airlines (AWA), and do the rest of the trip by road to Obuasi Black Park. He had his official car waiting for him at the Kumasi Airport, but decided to join the Defence Minister instead when a seat became vacant.  

The other deceased persons include Muniru Mohammed, acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Aboagye, a former NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Obuasi East; and Samuel Sarpong, a Vice Chairman of the NDC and a former Kumasi Mayor.

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) named the crew members as Squadron Leader Peter Baafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

The eight occupants of the helicopter died after the aircraft plunged into a forest the previous day, while travelling to an event in Obuasi. They were heading to a national assignment when the accident occurred.

There is an ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the accident. The flight is reported to have been delayed by an hour and a half, due to adverse weather conditions. 

The post How Mahama, Asiedu Nketiah, Muntaka & Sammy Gyamfi escaped military helicopter crash appeared first on The Herald ghana.

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