At Least 13 University Student Deaths Since 2024 Raise Alarming Questions About Campus Safety in Ghana

A grim tally compiled by JoyNews Research has documented at least 13 non-natural deaths among university students in Ghana since 2024, a figure researchers caution almost certainly understates the true scale of the problem. The deaths, spanning six institutions and involving road accidents, violent crime, suicide, and unexplained circumstances, have intensified calls for a systemic overhaul of campus safety infrastructure.

The findings, published on June 16, 2026, are based on media reports rather than official institutional records, a gap that itself underscores the absence of any centralised database tracking student deaths across Ghana’s universities.

A Pattern That Escalated in 2024

The year 2024 emerged as the deadliest on record, with six student deaths documented across multiple campuses. The incidents ranged from a hit-and-run at KNUST’s Ayeduase junction to a suspected armed robbery ambush that claimed the life of a University of Energy and Natural Resources student returning from a field trip in Sunyani.

In February of that year, a first-year Business Administration student at KNUST was struck by a speeding vehicle near campus. The driver fled the scene. By July, another KNUST student was knocked off a bicycle on a campus road. In December, yet another student was killed by a speeding trotro near the university, an incident captured on CCTV but which, like the others, has yielded no publicly reported outcome.

Four more deaths were recorded in 2025, including the strangulation of KNUST student Joana Deladem Yabani. Her boyfriend, also a KNUST student, was arrested and charged with murder and has been remanded several times while prosecutors await advice from the Attorney-General’s office.

2026 Brings No Respite

The first half of 2026 has already produced three documented deaths. In February, a KNUST student fell from the second floor of an off-campus hostel, with an autopsy ordered to determine the cause. In March, a University of Cape Coast student died when his motorcycle collided with a bus on campus.

The case that has generated the most public outrage involves Innocentia Avinu, a 20-year-old student found dead at Hutchland Beach near Cape Coast in June after leaving her university hostel. A 39-year-old man was arrested on June 15 in connection with the case. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu ordered a full, transparent investigation and directed UCC to cooperate fully with police. An initial examination found no visible injuries, and authorities have urged the public to refrain from spreading unverified claims while a post-mortem is completed.

KNUST at the Epicentre

Of the six universities affected, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has recorded the highest number of deaths, with at least four between 2024 and early 2025. The concentration of fatalities at a single institution raises questions about whether specific environmental or infrastructural factors, from road design to hostel security to traffic management, may be contributing to the pattern.

The University of Cape Coast follows, with three deaths documented since early 2026. The University of Ghana, the University of Education Winneba, the University of Energy and Natural Resources, and Sunyani Technical University have each recorded at least one.

Institutional Responses Fall Short

Student leaders across campuses have pushed for better security lighting, patrolled pathways, improved traffic controls on campus roads, and expanded access to counselling and mental health services. The demand for mental health support reflects a recognition that some deaths, particularly suicides, are linked to relationship pressures, academic stress, and inadequate support systems.

Yet the absence of a centralised tracking mechanism means that even the basic question of how many students have died remains unanswered with certainty. The JoyNews count rests solely on cases that received media coverage, leaving open the possibility that unreported incidents have occurred.

A Systemic Failure

The pattern documented by JoyNews Research is not a series of isolated tragedies. It points to a systemic failure in how Ghana’s universities protect their students, from road safety infrastructure around campuses to security at residential facilities to the availability of mental health resources. Until these structural issues are addressed with the urgency the death toll demands, students will continue to face risks that are, in many cases, preventable.

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