As controversy swells around a series of suspicious cargo and air ambulance flights that recently landed in Ghana, Kwaku Krobea Asante, the Team Lead at Fact Check Ghana, has urged caution and clarity in interpreting the emerging narratives from both the government and the opposition.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (8 April), Asante emphasised that while Fact Check Ghana lacks investigative powers beyond journalistic methods, his team has verified key aspects of the story through open-source flight tracking platforms such as FlightAware, FlightRadar24, and AirNav.
The flights in question
At the centre of the storm are four flights, two of which were mentioned by Deputy Education Minister Rev. John Ntim Fordjour and former Deputy Information Minister Felix Ofosu Kwakye in opposing press conferences. These include:
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AirMed NH23AM – An air ambulance owned by AirMed International in the U.S., which landed in Ghana on March 20th from Gran Canaria, Spain, at 9:02 a.m. GMT.
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AirMed N864AM – A sister aircraft that reportedly brought in spare parts, landed on 22 March, and returned the same day — but later circled back to Ghana after routing through Angola and a private airport in Johannesburg.
Asante confirmed the timelines and flight paths of both AirMed flights, noting the unusual five-day stay of NH23AM in Ghana — a deviation from its typically brisk travel schedule. While government officials suggested the aircraft developed a fault, no evidence confirming this has been independently verified by Fact-Check Ghana.
He pointed out discrepancies in Ofosu Kwakye’s claims that the NH23AM flight passed through Rwanda and Angola before landing in Ghana. “All available flight history shows the plane flew directly from Gran Canaria to Kotoka,” Asante clarified.
Cargo Flights: More questions than answers
The other two flights under scrutiny are cargo aircraft operated by Ukrainian-based Cavok Air:
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CVK7037 – Allegedly carried classified goods or cash.
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CVK7007 – Said to have come in to assist the CVK7037 aircraft.
Asante admitted that the team could not confirm whether CVK7037 landed in Ghana. “There’s no travel history after December 18th for that plane. It could mean many things, but we can’t conclusively say it never arrived,” he said.
However, CVK7007 was tracked flying from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Accra on 15 March, aligning somewhat with the government’s timeline. Still, the absence of departure data for either aircraft leaves significant gaps.
Discrepancies in government communication
Asante noted several omissions in the government’s narrative, particularly from Minister of Government Communications Felix Ofosu Kwakye.
“What we discovered — and the minister didn’t mention — is that AirMed N864AM returned to Ghana the day after leaving, after making stops in Luanda and at a private airport in Johannesburg,” he explained.
While not suggesting deception, Asante emphasised the importance of transparency. “We are not making accusations. We just stick to the facts, and the travel history tells a more complex story.”
What’s inside the planes? Nobody knows
Despite mounting public concern about the aircraft’s contents, Asante made it clear that there is no way — using open-source platforms — to verify what the flights were carrying. “Unless someone from the inside shares that information, it’s not publicly accessible,” he said.
He added that his team is investigating other aspects of the case, including whether servicing records exist to confirm the government’s claim that one aircraft developed a fault while on the tarmac in Accra. They are also probing the assertion that Ghana was chosen over Rwanda due to limitations in screening standards at Rwandan airports.
The verdict so far
According to Asante, Fact-Check Ghana’s investigations validate the physical presence of some of the aircraft in Ghana and confirm several aspects of both the government’s and opposition’s claims. However, the lack of data on cargo, discrepancies in travel paths, and the use of private airports introduce uncertainty.
“This is an evolving story,” Asante concluded. “There are still questions to be answered, and we’re working to get to the bottom of them.”
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