BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The legal standoff between the family of the late National Democratic Congress (NDC) politician Samuel Aboagye and his widow, Abigail Salami, resurfaced on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, as both parties returned to the Obuasi District Court in what has become a closely watched and emotionally charged DNA dispute.
The case has its roots in the aftermath of the August 6, 2025 helicopter crash, a national tragedy that claimed the lives of senior government officials and security personnel travelling to Obuasi for an anti–illegal mining operation.
Samuel Aboagye, a former Obuasi East parliamentary candidate and Deputy Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), was among those who perished when the military Z-9 helicopter crashed into the Sikaman Forest, leaving the bodies of the victims charred beyond recognition.
In the days following the disaster, government investigators requested DNA samples from immediate family members of the deceased to aid in the formal identification of the remains.
According to court correspondents, this process triggered a dispute within the Aboagye family when efforts to secure DNA samples from Aboagye’s young daughter—who lives with her mother in the United States—proved unsuccessful.
On November 11, 2025, reports first emerged that the Bretua family of Adansi Kwapia had taken legal action against Abigail Salami, accusing her of refusing on multiple occasions to present the child for DNA testing.
Angel FM’s court correspondent, Chukwu Joseph, who attended the initial hearing, disclosed that the family claimed repeated attempts were made to coordinate with the widow, including agreeing on specific dates for the test, only for communication to break down at the critical moment.
The family maintains that Salami’s conduct raised suspicions, prompting them to seek a court order compelling the DNA test. In interviews granted after the case became public, a brother of the late Aboagye asserted that the family’s action aligned with concerns allegedly expressed by the deceased while alive, including claims that he had doubts about the child’s paternity.
Abigail Salami, however, has rejected the allegations and responded legally by filing a counter-application at the Obuasi District Court, seeking to block any attempt to subject her child to a compulsory DNA test.
Her legal team argues that the application infringes on the rights and privacy of the child and lacks sufficient legal basis.
When the case resumed on December 23, both sides appeared in court with their lawyers, accompanied by family members.
Footage circulating on social media platforms showed the presence of Samuel Aboagye’s relatives, including his brother, as well as legal representatives for the widow.
However, proceedings took an unexpected turn when the presiding judge invited counsel for both parties into her chambers for a closed-door meeting, effectively shutting the media out of the substantive discussions.
After more than an hour, the lawyers emerged without addressing the press.
No ruling was delivered in open court, and no official update was given regarding the next steps, though the case is widely believed to have been adjourned to a later date.
Meanwhile, the Aboagye family has dismissed reports circulating online suggesting that a DNA test had already been conducted and that the child had been confirmed as Samuel Aboagye’s biological daughter.
In a previous interview, the late politician’s brother categorically denied such claims, describing them as false and misleading.
