A security analyst, Andrews Asiedu Tetteh, has called for a thorough investigation into the recent military helicopter crash.
Describing the incident as a national tragedy and a security crisis, he stressed that an investigation is essential to uncover the circumstances that led to the crash.
In an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Mr Tetteh suggested that several factors may have caused the accident, including potential sabotage from within the military.
He noted that the late Defence Minister had recently revealed that the government had uncovered a case of ammunition theft within the Ghana Armed Forces, which predated the 2024 transfer of thousands of unaccounted rounds to the National Security Secretariat.
The late Defence Minister made these allegations during a familiarisation tour of key military institutions, including the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.
The minister disclosed that in 2024, ammunition was moved from the Ghana Armed Forces to National Security, prompting an investigation.
He also revealed a prior incident of ammunition theft within the Ghana Armed Forces, noting that such weapons could fall into the wrong hands.According to the analyst, this revelation did not sit well with several people, both inside and outside the military.
Andrews Asiedu Tetteh believes that individuals who felt exposed or feared disgrace because of their involvement in the missing ammunition may have contributed to the accident.
He clarified that while multiple factors may have played a role, investigators should not rule out this possibility.He pointed out that since the minister used military aircraft, those with ulterior motives could have taken the opportunity to tamper with it.
“Omane Boamah as a minister had disclosed that the government had discovered that some ammunition was missing, and so he was going to open a full-scale investigation into the matter. So if you are going to open a full-scale investigation into the missing ammunition so we will be humiliated or disgraced, then you will be using our aircraft, and so we will also do everything to kill the investigation you want to do. So the investigators probing the crash can explore all these possibilities to unravel the circumstances leading to the crash.”
He also proposed that the country outsource expertise to support local investigators, stating that it would not be out of place, just as Ghana has sought support from the International Monetary Fund on economic and monetary issues.
“There are several factors that may have caused the crash, and that is why we need to conduct a thorough investigation into it. The Air Force is a serious institution that takes good care of their aircraft due to the limited numbers they have. Before they fly an aircraft, they make sure they do proper checks, and I commend them for that. But this accident would require that we get the black box to support the investigation. It is one thing getting the black box and another to get experts to assist with the investigation to unravel the circumstances leading to the crash. The President was said to be the one to have used the aircraft. Was it the case that someone tampered with the wires so the president would crash, or was it a technical fault? That is why we need the investigation,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
