Helicopter Crash: Samuel Aboagye’s Widow Sends Strong Message to Ghanaians, “Finish Their Work”
- Abigail Salami spoke at the National Inter-Faith Memorial Service for the Departed 8 on Thursday, August 6
- The widow of the late NADMO Deputy DG urged Ghanaians to continue the fight against illegal mining
- Mrs Aboagye reflected on a year of grief, describing the quiet daily reminders of her husband's absence
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The widow of Samuel Aboagye, the late Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), has issued a heartfelt plea to Ghanaians to honour the eight officials killed in last year's military helicopter crash by committing to end illegal mining in Ghana.
Source: UGC
Abigail Salami delivered an emotional address at the National Inter-Faith Memorial Service for the "Departed 8" on Thursday, August 6, marking one year since the tragedy that claimed the lives of eight public servants travelling on official duty.
She told those gathered that ceremonies and speeches alone would not be enough to honour the fallen.
"Samuel died on his way to a fight that is yet not finished. The rivers he was going to defend are still being poisoned. The land is still bleeding," she said.
"The truest tribute we can pay these eight is not a speech. It is to finish their work. Please, do not let this be the last year we remember them."
Abigail Aboagye grieved her late husband, Samuel
Reflecting on twelve months of loss, Abigail spoke candidly about the weight of life without her husband.
"I will not stand here and pretend the year has been easy," she told the gathering. "Grief does not get smaller. You simply grow around it."
She painted a tender picture of home, describing the small but piercing signs of absence that no anniversary could erase.
"There's a chair in our house that nobody sits on. Birthdays came anyway. Christmas came anyway. And our girls still ask me questions I do not have good answers for."
Before his title and rank, she reminded those present that Samuel Aboagye was a husband and a father to two daughters.
"As the Deputy Director for NADMO, his work was to reach people on the worst days of their lives. He did it well," she said.
"But before any title, he was my husband and a father to our two girls."
Watch the full speech by Samuel Aboagye's widow, Abigail Salami, during the one-year memorial in the YouTube video below.
Samuel Aboagye's widow appreciates President Mahama
Aboagye offered gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama, the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Armed Forces, NADMO, the people of Obuasi and Adansi, and Ghanaians across the country who supported the bereaved families throughout the year.
"Thank you. You held us up when we could not stand."
She also extended solidarity to the other seven families who lost loved ones in the crash, saying their shared sorrow had forged an unbreakable bond.
"To the seven other families here, we did not choose one another, but we belong to one another now."
Closing her tribute, Abigail addressed her late husband directly, drawing on her faith as the source of her strength.
"I want you to know that God has held me. On the days I could not even pray, He carried me through all the pain. Our girls are well. They have your love, and I am keeping my promise. I am taking care. Rest peacefully in the bosom of the Lord. Until we meet again, you will always be my forever."
Abigail's speech came after the family of the late Samuel Aboagye provided an update on the baby's contentious DNA test, which dominated headlines following his demise.
Aboagye's brother drops DNA case, invokes spirits
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that one year after a devastating Ghana Air Force helicopter crash killed eight people, including senior government officials, the family of one victim is set to abandon a highly publicised DNA paternity dispute surrounding his infant child.
Nana Kwabena Gyamera Oyiakwan II, the elder brother of the late Samuel Aboagye, announced that his family would no longer pursue DNA testing to determine whether Aboagye's infant daughter, born with his widow, Abigail Salami, is his biological child.
The announcement came during an interview with Blakk Rasta on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, a day before the first anniversary of the August 6 helicopter crash in Ghana.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
