“You Will Be Missed”: Joyce Bawah Mogtari Pays Stirring Tribute to Dr. Omane Boamah

By Joylinda Laryea / 15 August, 2025

Presidential aide and lawyer, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has penned a stirring and deeply personal tribute to her late friend and colleague, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, the former Minister for Defence who tragically died in the August 6 military helicopter crash.

In a heartfelt reflection shared during the interdenominational state funeral held on Friday, August 15, Bawah Mogtari described Dr. Boamah as a “faithful Catholic, intelligent and handsome,” and a man of “honesty, modesty, and unwavering loyalty” whose loss has left a deep void in both her personal and political life.

She recalled how President John Mahama often referred to Omane Boamah and Stan Dogbe as her “twin brothers,” a nod to the deep camaraderie and political partnership that defined their decades of friendship.

“The hours between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. will never be the same again,” she said, revealing the intimate daily exchanges they shared. “The devastating news of your cruel, untimely demise shattered my world.”

Mogtari reflected on how their paths first crossed nearly 25 years ago, when Boamah then a student leader and activist  was introduced to her as part of a research project initiated by the late President John Evans Atta Mills. That meeting would spark a working relationship and personal friendship that endured across multiple political eras.

She praised his strategic brilliance, quiet humility, and unrelenting dedication to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), crediting him with playing a critical role in President Mahama’s comeback victories in 2020 and 2024.

“You poured yourself into this. Your mantra was: ‘Organize, don’t agonize.’ And indeed, we won massively… These were your victories as much as his.”

Mogtari’s tribute was filled with vivid anecdotes of shared political campaigns, long strategy sessions, family decisions, and personal quirks including Boamah’s peculiar habit of eating garri soaking with Milo. She described him as a man of deep convictions, one who bore even harsh criticism with grace and focused instead on nation-building.

“You gave everything including your personal life  to ensure redemption for many,” she wrote. “You silenced and confounded your fiercest critics in ways words cannot express.”

Her message concluded with poetry and prayer, calling Dr. Boamah “an incredible human” and “the only truly unapologetically consistent politician,” whose passing was not just a personal loss, but a national one.

“Rest now, dear friend, your journey’s done. But in my heart, our friendship has just begun. You will be missed.”

Dr. Edward Omane Boamah died along with seven others in a tragic helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region while en route to Obuasi for the launch of a government mining programme.