Dr. Jones Opoku Ware, a criminologist and lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), is concerned about Ghana’s decision to send samples of eight charred helicopter crash victims to South Africa for DNA analysis.

In an interview on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s Nyankonton Mu Nsem, he expressed his belief that Ghana should be fully capable of handling this type of forensic analysis.

“I was surprised when I heard the news,” he said. “I know Ghana has DNA analysis facilities. After this incident, I’ll probably do more research to see if our facilities are equipped for this specific level of analysis. The most important thing, to me, is that we should be able to perform these DNA tests ourselves. As a nation, we need to invest heavily in these resources so we don’t have to seek help from other countries.”

While acknowledging the high cost of DNA analysis, Dr. Opoku Ware argued that Ghana must prioritize funding for such centers. He drew a parallel to the COVID-19 pandemic, recalling how the Noguchi Memorial Institute and the KNUST KCCR were instrumental in conducting tests for the country. “I believe we need to set our priorities straight and invest in these kinds of capabilities,” he stated.

Dr. Opoku Ware stressed that Ghana has a responsibility to invest in security measures that allow the nation to handle these issues independently.

He also considered another possibility: that the DNA analysis might have already been done in Ghana, and authorities simply wanted a second opinion.

“There’s a chance they’re seeking a second opinion,” he explained. “With DNA analysis, you often need a second opinion to either corroborate or confirm the first one. It’s difficult to identify the bodies, so it’s possible they’re going for a second opinion. I don’t want to criticize them too much, but moving forward, we have to invest in systems like this to help us deal with issues like the one we’ve witnessed.”

Meanwhile, watch the trailer to GhanaWeb’s yet-to-air documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures below: