Donyina Mensah slams decision to send helicopter victims' samples abroad

Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), Michael Donyina Mensah, has voiced his dismay over the government’s decision to send samples from the eight victims of a recent helicopter crash to South Africa for forensic analysis.

He described the move as a major embarrassment and an indictment on the entire country.

He argued that if Ghana lacked the necessary equipment or expertise, it would have been more logical to fly the experts into the country rather than sending the sensitive samples abroad.

The decision to outsource the analysis, he believes, paints a picture that such procedures are “extraordinary” and beyond Ghana’s capabilities, which he finds “disgraceful”.

Donyina Mensah said this incident has exposed the country’s lack of essential logistics and expertise, adding that sending samples abroad is only justified when a country lacks both the equipment and the experts.

He also criticised the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for their handling of the public communication surrounding the crash.

He called their initial statement, which announced the helicopter was “off the radar” after the public already knew it had crashed, “terrible”.

Furthermore, he expressed concern that authorities have focused too heavily on the victims, neglecting other critical issues and systemic failures that may have contributed to the accident.

“Another aspect of the incident that has really exposed us is that after the crash occurred, we decided to send samples of the charred bodies to South Africa for forensic analysis. It’s disgraceful. They’ve painted a picture as if forensic analysis is something so extraordinary that it cannot be done in Ghana.”

“This is not a strange phenomenon. Is it that we lack the expertise or the logistics for the analysis? If it was about a lack of experts, we could have flown them into the country.

"The samples should not have been flown out of the country. The only reasons to send samples abroad are a lack of experts, a lack of logistics, or a combination of both. If we decided to send the samples to South Africa, it means we don’t have the equipment to conduct the analysis,” he said.

During an appearance on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Donyina Mensah, who is also a policy analyst, pointed out that the cost of forensic analysis machines is well under $300,000.

“The most expensive machine we need to run the forensic analysis costs no more than $300,000. That’s why it makes no sense that our authorities have decided to send samples of the charred remains to South Africa for analysis.”