The Member of Parliament for Lawra, Hon. Bide A. Ziedieng, has brought to the attention of Parliament and the entire nation a tragic incident that occurred in the Lawra Constituency of the Upper West Region on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
According to the Honorable Member, he received the devastating news that seven students from Lawra Senior High School had tragically drowned while attempting to cross the Black Volta River at Dikpe, near the Burkina Faso border.
The incident involved a group of sixteen (16) students, all members of the school’s cadet corps, who had decided to jog along the riverside at Dikpe on Saturday morning. Out of this group, ten students, comprising eight girls and two boys, chose to board a canoe managed by a young boy in an attempt to cross the Black Volta River at Dikpe. Their commander reportedly jumped into the river to save his comrades and managed to rescue three students. Tragically, seven of them perished in the water.
In his address to Parliament, Hon. Bide A. Ziedieng extended his deepest and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. He also expressed sincere sympathy to the headmaster, staff, and student body of Lawra Senior High School, all of whom are struggling to come to terms with this devastating loss. “Mr. Speaker,” he said, “I believe this unfortunate and sad event should be a wake-up call to all of us to be a bit more careful of the way we live our lives because life is unpredictable.”
He revealed that the seven deceased students hailed from various parts of the Upper West Region: two from Lawra Constituency, two from Daffiama/Bussie/Issah, one from Nandom, one from Wa, and one from Nadowli/Kaleo. The three students who were rescued are currently responding to medical treatment.
The Honorable Member strongly emphasized that the tragedy could have been prevented had the students been provided with life jackets. “Unfortunately, there were none,” he stated. He urgently called on the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) to take immediate steps to provide life jackets for Dikpe and other communities situated along the Black Volta River, where residents regularly rely on boats for transport.
He concluded his appeal to Parliament, stating, “Let us take preventive steps, including public education on safety and river transport security. The time has come for us to rise above partisanship and political point-scoring.
The safety and development of our people must take precedence. The death of these 7 promising young students, he said, should serve as a national wake-up call—a tragic alarm bell sounding from the banks of the Black Volta River at Dikpe, urging us all to act before more lives are lost. Let this House remember the 7 students not just with words but with action.”
