Director of Legal Affairs for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has condemned the planned demonstration by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2026.
He has described the upcoming protest as a desecration of the memory of the eight persons who died in the helicopter crash on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
According to him, although it is within the rights of the NPP to criticise the Mahama administration, to go on a demonstration on a day which marks exactly a year of the passing of the eight people, for whom an anniversary event has been planned, is a desecration of their memory and the nation’s democracy as a whole.
Responding to a preliminary comment by former Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, on the BigIssue segment on the NewDay morning show on TV3 on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Edudzi described the demonstration as a “sacrilege”.
“If you want to criticise the Mahama administration, it is within your constitutional right,” he stated.
“But what we’ll not accept are the very people who desecrated our democracy, the rule of law, to now suddenly become the apostles of rule or law and democracy. We’ll not permit that sacrilege.”
Mr. Tameklo expressed shock at claims by members of the NPP that the government officials who died on August 6 were their friends, but have chosen to demonstrate to mock their passing.
“Unfortunately, our friends in the NPP claim they are friends of the late Dr. Omane Boamah, friends of Ibrahim Murtala, among others. Exactly one year of the anniversary of their passing, that is when they have decided to mock their passing with this ill-timed, ill-conceived demonstration,” he averred.
His comments followed an earlier call by Egyapa Mercer, admonishing Ghanaians to join the upcoming protest to register their displeasure over what the NPP describes as the erosion of the gains made so far in Ghana’s democracy.
“If you look at the things happening at this time, when we were promised a reset to the legitimate expectation of many Ghanaians with the intention to make things right, we are rather seeing a retrogression in the progress that we’ve made in our democracy and it’s worrying.
“So, it’s important that we all rise and demonstrate to the leadership of our country that Ghanaians will not countenance any attempt to erode the gains that we made over the past 33 years,” Egyapa Mercer stated.
However, the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs says the protest is ill-intentioned.
“I feel so sorry today, that on the 6th of August, when eminent Ghanaians lost their lives and there is planned anniversary for same, that is when the NPP led by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, have decided to desecrate their memory with this ill-timed demonstration. I thought they were our friends. I didn’t know that to them, everything is politics,” he maintained.
On August 6, 2025, a Harbin Z-9 helicopter carrying government officials crashed near Obuasi in the Ashanti region, killing all 8 people on board, including Defence Minister Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.
The helicopter was headed to an event focused on tackling illegal mining when it went off radar. The crash site showed debris on fire in a forest, with victims burnt beyond recognition.
Following the disaster, President John Dramani Mahama declared three days of national mourning, and a state funeral was held for the victims. Their one year anniversary is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Bawumia pays commiserating visits to families of helicopter crash victims
