Biography: Who was Captain Maxwell Mahama?

News of the murder of a Ghanaian soldier, Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama has shocked the entire country on Tuesday morning.

Adam Mahama was the victim of mob justice by a group of residents in a town in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region. He was lynched to death and his body burned by residents who claim he was mistaken for a suspected armed robber.

Reactions online have shifted from sorrow to outrage about the death of the soldier.

But who was Captain Adam Mahama?

Adam Mahama was from a family of servicemen. According to his uncle, the inventor Fred McBagonluri, he was the great grandson of H.W.M Bamford, who served as the Inspector General of Police (1924-1938) for 14 years during British colonial rule in Gold Coast.

“His great grandfather Lt. Colonel H. W. M. BAMFORD MBE/CBE served the British Colonial Army and was first IGP of Ghana. ADAM was born to serve. He comes.from a long line of warriors. HMW fought in Natal South Africa 1896. Commanded a battalion in WW I in France and was one of three survivors of a German chemical attack. Fought in WW II. So please find these killers. We have given you too much to deserve this.”

His father also served in the Ghana Armed Forces.

Coming from a family of servicemen, he entered into the army at a very early age, rising rapidly to the rank of captain. In an interview, McBagonluri said Adam was in his early thirties, proof of his gallantry in the army. There has even been talk that he was been considered for promotion in the army shortly.

Adam was also considering a life in public service to Ghana. In an interview, Dr McBagonluri, disclosed that his nephew had consulted him recently about gaining a second master’s degree in either Law or Public Policy. McBagonluri, who helped establish the Faculty of Engineering and serves as the dean of the faculty at Ashesi Univeristy, advised Adam Mahama to pursue Public Policy first.

According to his Facebook profile, he studied abroad at the University of Leicester where gained a Master’s degree in Security and Risk Management. He also attended the University of Ghana where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History. Before that he had attended the St John’s School in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region for his secondary education. He also attended Akosombo International School.

He was the only son of his parents and leaves behind a mother, father, Barbara, his wife and two young child children. Maxwell and Barbara got married in August 2012.

He was also a lover of the game of tennis. In January 2017, when Roger Federer won the Australian Open he posted this on Facebook. “Lessons to learn from both Rafa and Roger. I think they both represent a strong character. Their resilience is just amazing.

Witnessing him win a grand slam at age 35, Roger is a good motivation for the start of the year. He says ‘tennis is a tough game, there are no draws’, you win or you lose. What a great championship match #tennisforlife.”