Private legal practitioner Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers has sharply criticised the Ghanaian government for its delayed response to the deaths of 16 children in a tragic road accident, accusing officials of hypocrisy in contrast to their swift condolences following a helicopter crash that claimed senior leaders.
The July 28 collision on the Kumasi-Accra highway claimed the lives of 16 young members of the Saviour Church of Ghana, aged between 15 and 25. They were buried in a mass ceremony on July 31.
Yet, public condolences from high-ranking officials, including Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and Gender Minister Dr Naa Momo Lartey, did not come until days after the August 6 helicopter crash that killed Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and others.
“The innocent children lost their lives, yet silence prevailed.
When Omane Boamah died, suddenly there was an outpouring of sympathy.
This is the height of hypocrisy,” Brako-Powers told 3news.com.
Dr Lartey’s condolence statement arrived only on August 8, while NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia and Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene visited grieving families on August 9.
Brako-Powers expressed deep disappointment that figures he described as “mothers of the nation” failed to console families when grief was at its most raw. “Their priorities lie not with ordinary Ghanaians but with the rich and powerful,” he argued.
Warning that such selective compassion risks widening societal divides, the lawyer called for equal dignity and empathy for all citizens, irrespective of their status or prominence.
This critique highlights ongoing concerns about the government’s handling of tragedies and the importance of inclusive leadership in moments of national sorrow.
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