Abomosu SHS Death: Family demands answers over 14-year-old’s death

The family of 14-year-old Daniel Boateng Mintah is demanding a thorough police investigation into his death barely 12 days after he reported to Abomosu STEM Senior High School in the Eastern Region, citing unanswered questions about his final hours, the medical attention he received, and the condition of his body at the mortuary.

Daniel reported to the school on September 18, 2026, with hopes of becoming a computer engineer. However, his dream was cut short on September 30, when his family was informed that he had fallen ill and later told that he had been brought dead to Kwabeng Hospital.

His parents, David and Joyce Mintah, say the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, with the information they received raising concerns about what happened between the time he reportedly became unwell and his arrival at the hospital.

According to his mother, Joyce, she spoke with Daniel earlier on September 30 before receiving a call informing her that he was unwell and needed an injection for suspected malaria.

She said the caller requested Daniel’s National Health Insurance details and asked her to send GH¢50 to cover the injection, which she did.

However, the family said subsequent attempts to obtain updates on their son’s condition proved unsuccessful for several hours.

At about 3:10 p.m., a caller who identified himself as the school’s headmaster reportedly asked the parents to come to the school urgently. They set off but were later redirected to Kwabeng Hospital, where they were informed that their son had been brought in dead.

Daniel’s father, David Mintah, said a doctor informed the family that the boy had complained of a headache and stomachache before being taken to the hospital. The doctor reportedly recommended a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death.

The family’s concerns deepened after Daniel’s body was transferred from Kwabeng Hospital to the Tafo mortuary on October 1, at their request.

Mr Mintah said he visited the mortuary on October 6 and was disturbed by what he observed. He alleged that there was blood around his son’s face and other parts of the body, raising further questions about the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death and the handling of his remains.

The family is also seeking clarification over an account that Daniel left the school’s orientation area to urinate but failed to return. They want investigators to establish what happened during the period between his last reported activities at school and the time he was taken to the hospital.

His elder sister, Vivian Mintah, a nurse, has separately questioned the presence of psychiatric medication among the belongings handed over to the family by the school.

She said the family found medication identified as carbamazepine and olanzapine among Daniel’s possessions and wants to know how the drugs came to be there, whether they had been prescribed to him and whether they had any connection to the events leading to his death.

The family says, to its knowledge, Daniel had not previously undergone psychiatric treatment. However, the presence of the medication alone does not establish that he had a psychiatric condition or that the drugs contributed to his death.

His former teacher, Ricky Kwabena Godigah, an assistant headmaster of Richenfel Academy at Dawhenya in Tema Community 25, has also called for a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

The grieving family is appealing to Inspector-General of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno and Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu to intervene and ensure that the matter is investigated fully.

They are also requesting that Daniel’s body be transferred to the Police Hospital in Accra to facilitate further investigations, including a post-mortem examination to help establish the cause of death.

For his family, the tragedy goes beyond the loss of a young boy whose future had only just begun. Daniel’s mother remembers him as a determined child with a strong passion for computers and a desire to make his family proud.

Now, barely weeks after accompanying him as he began his secondary school journey, the family is left seeking answers about how he died.

They want investigators to establish the medical attention Daniel received, clarify the conflicting accounts surrounding his final hours and determine whether any wrongdoing occurred.

Until those questions are answered, the family says it will continue to seek a thorough investigation into the death of their son.