The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has denied circulating media reports that attributed the death of a 55-year-old farmer, Mr. Baba Takora, to the recent Bagre Dam spillage.
In a statement released on Wednesday, August 27, NADMO clarified that the drowning incident was a tragic accident caused by local water levels and not the dam’s spillage.
According to the statement, Mr. Takora, a farmer from the Yama community in the West Mamprusi Municipality, drowned on August 25, 2025, while attempting to fetch water from a tributary of the White Volta.
The unfortunate event occurred as he was assisting community members in harvesting his maize farm located along the river.
NADMO stressed that Mr. Takora’s death was not a result of spillage-related flooding.
The organisation further explained that at the time of the incident on the evening of August 25, the water released from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso had not yet reached Ghanaian river bodies.
“It typically takes about 24 hours for the water to reach the Yarigu monitoring station. Furthermore, the discharge rate of the dam on that day was a mere 47.34 m3/s, an amount deemed insufficient to cause a rise in Ghana’s water bodies. Any increase in river levels observed at the time was due to local rainfall.”
The organisation, through its Director of Communications, Mrs. Kate Opoku, expressed its deepest condolences to the bereaved family of Mr. Takora, who left behind his wife, Madam Sala Baba, and five children.
NADMO also urged all media houses to verify information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation and public alarm.
Read NADMO’s statement below:
