The family of Samuel Aboagye, a former Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and victim of the August 6, 2025, Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crash, has initiated legal action against his widow, Mrs. Abigail Aboagye, at the Obuasi District Court over a paternity dispute.
The family claims Mr. Aboagye had harbored doubts about the paternity of their three-year-old child before his death, allegedly citing the child’s resemblance to a certain Member of Parliament from the Ashanti Region. The family contends that these doubts and the widow’s alleged refusal to submit the child for a DNA test have stalled the final determination of Aboagye’s estate and death benefits.
The dispute intensified after the crash when authorities requested DNA samples to confirm the identities of the victims, whose remains were severely burned. According to Nana Kwabena Gyamera Oyiakwan II, the late Aboagye’s elder brother and Chief of Adansi Kwapia, the widow—who is currently based in the United States—initially agreed to bring the child for the test but never did. The family later discovered she had left her residence with the child. The family was ultimately forced to use a sample from another child Aboagye had fathered elsewhere to complete the crash victim identification.
The family is seeking a court order to compel the DNA test at MediLab in Kumasi. In response, Mrs. Aboagye’s legal team has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the family’s application. Her defense maintains that her late husband is the biological father, arguing that the family’s actions are invasive, defamatory, and potentially motivated by interests beyond mere identification.
Legal commentator Lawyer Agbemava Lorlormavor Elikplim has publicly supported the widow’s position, arguing that a family should not be permitted to question a child’s paternity after the father has accepted them during his lifetime. The Obuasi District Court heard the case on November 11, 2025, and has adjourned proceedings to December 23, 2025, for further hearing.
Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
